The truth against the new pro-Russian hoax claiming that Ukraine has banned Christianity

The Kremlin and its propagandists have been spreading lies about Ukraine for years, especially since the beginning of the Russian invasion.

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A new disinformation campaign against Ukraine

In the past few hours, pro-Russian social media accounts have spread claims that Ukraine has banned Christianity. Some accounts go a bit more nuanced, saying that Ukraine has banned the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Some accounts attribute the ban to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In some cases, these messages are being widely shared on Twitter.

We are, once again, facing a new disinformation campaign. As I have said before, disinformation and hoaxes must be fought with information. The reality is that Ukraine has not banned Christianity or the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Neither have they been banned by Zelensky. These hoaxes arose after the approval yesterday of a bill by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (you can read its dossier here). The bill can be read here (PDF).

What the project approved yesterday by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine says

The bill was introduced on January 19, 2023 by the Servant of the People party led by Zelensky and was approved by 265 votes in favor, 29 against and 4 abstentions (see voting page). The only party to vote against it was the 22-member "Platform for Life and Peace", which is the successor to the pro-Russian "Opposition Platform - For Life", which was outlawed on March 20, 2022 for collaborating with the Russian invaders.

The bill provides for the following prohibition: "The activity of religious organizations that are affiliated with the centers of influence of a religious organization (association), the management (administration) center of which is located outside Ukraine in a state carrying out armed aggression against Ukraine, is not permitted." The bill adds: "The activity of a religious organization may be terminated by a court of law at the request of the central executive body implementing state policy in the field of religion, or the prosecutor."

Christian denominations in Ukraine

To understand what the project refers to, it should be noted that in Ukraine there are the following Christian denominations:

• Ukrainian Orthodox Church: is an independent Orthodox church. It is headed by Metropolitan Epiphanius I of kyiv and All Ukraine.
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. It is an Orthodox church dependent on the Russian Orthodox Church, which is headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Kirill, a church that de facto functions as a state church. Like Putin, Kyril was an agent of the KGB (the secret police of the USSR) and has been openly supporting the invasion of Ukraine. Because of this, on May 27, 2022 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dependent on Moscow declared its "complete autonomy and independence".
• There are also other minority Orthodox denominations, such as the Ruthenian Orthodox Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church, the Canonical Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (derived from the Polish Orthodox Church), the True Orthodox Church (emerged in 1920), the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Russian Orthodox Church of the Old Rite (based in Moscow but separate from the Russian Orthodox Church), and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (dependent on the Russian Orthodox Church).
• Catholic Church: 10% of Ukrainians are Roman Catholics. The majority (9%) are of the Byzantine rite (historically grouped in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church), with the remaining 1% following the Latin rite and a small community belonging to the Armenian Catholic Church. The majority of Ukrainian Catholics live in the west of the country, an area that historically belonged to Poland.
• There are also several Protestant churches, which account for approximately 2% of the Ukrainian population, with a particular presence in the west of the country.

The law only affects Orthodox churches that have ties to Russia.

Obviously, the text of the law does not refer to all Christianity or all Orthodox churches, but to those that are loyal to Moscow. The paradox is that Ukraine has been at war for two and a half years, but during all this time the churches dependent on Moscow have continued to act within Ukraine, in some cases preaching in favour of the invaders. This is a case comparable to that represented by mosques that preach jihad against the West in Western countries, with the difference that Ukraine is a country at war.

Once the law is passed, the churches that will be affected will have to indicate whether they still have ties with Moscow. If they do, the Ukrainian daily Kyiv Independent reports: "The law will come into force 30 days after its publication, but UOC-MP [Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate] communities will have nine months to completely break ties with the Russian Church, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak explained."

A hoax that omits Russian attacks on churches in Ukraine

So, it is a lie that Ukraine has banned Christianity or the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. It is yet another hoax from a Russian propaganda network that has become a relentless factory of lies since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this case, the hoax aims to generate sympathy for Putin among the world's Christians, omitting the numerous Russian attacks on churches and even against an Orthodox cathedral in Ukraine.

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Photo: Oficjalna strona Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. President of Poland Andrzej Duda and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a memorial service for the victims of the 1943 Volhynian Massacre at the Catholic Cathedral in Lutsk on July 9, 2023.