This week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled a plan to allow his regime to unilaterally ban thousands of churches he claims are tied to Russia.
The plan would give the Ukrainian government the authority to “impose sanctions” on priests who work with Russia, and allow the outright “banning” of “Russian-affiliated religious groups,” according to Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council raised the issue, and Zelensky’s administration has begun work on a bill for the ban to be approved by the country’s parliament.
Defending the planned religious discrimination bill, the Ukrainian president said it was necessary for the country’s “spiritual independence” following the war.
“We will ensure complete independence for our state,” said Zelensky, under whose watch Ukraine has become entirely dependent on foreign aid. He added, “In particular, spiritual independence.”
🇷🇺🇺🇦Zelensky actually announced a ban on the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
"It is necessary to create such conditions in which any figures dependent on the aggressor country will not be able to manipulate Ukrainians and weaken Ukraine from within". pic.twitter.com/6V7z28xLL4
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZgeopolitics) December 2, 2022
“We will never allow anyone to build an empire inside the Ukrainian soul,” he asserted.
Zelensky is likely alluding to the Russian Orthodox Church, which according to France 24 has roughly 1,000 years of ties to Ukraine, and remains a strong force in the country despite a public break at the onset of the war.
“He’s talking about the Moscow Patriarchate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its more than 10,000 parishes in Ukraine,” said France 24 correspondent Gulliver Cragg.
He explained that Ukraine’s branch severed ties, “but many in Ukraine doubt whether that’s really the case” after “a series of raids” discovered “some priests, at least, have on them various pro-Russian materials.”
Watch France 24’s explanation of Zelensky’s religion ban on Spreely.video:
These materials discovered among Orthodox holy men, according to Zelensky, mean the entire religion should be banned in the war torn country.
“This, if it goes ahead,” explained Cragg, “will be a huge change” for the country’s Christians, as less than 1,500 of the 12,000 churches in the country have crossed over to the state-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
As Ukraine struggles to finance its costly defense against Russia, even as its Western allies continue to send billions, the country could see an unexpected windfall by shuttering Christian churches and considering priests to be enemies of the state.
Cragg noted that most analysts believe Ukraine would need to “nationalize” the Russian Orthodox Church’s property, “including, obviously, extraordinarily valuable property” that would help pay for Ukraine’s war.
