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Ukraine’s parliament registers bill that could lead to ban on Moscow-linked church

Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Ukraine’s parliament registered a draft law on Monday that would allow a ban on activities of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The church has been accused by Kyiv of undermining Ukraine’s unity and collaborating with Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February, 2022, charges that it denies. The bill proposes amendments envisaging […]

Battle over ownership of Ukrainian monastery heats up again

An aerial photo shows the thousand-year-old Monastery of Caves, also known as Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the holiest site of Eastern Orthodox Christians taken through morning fog during a sunrise in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, 10th November, 2018.

RNS Orthodox Christians who support their church’s historic ties to Moscow prevented the Ukrainian government from taking possession of several buildings at the Monastery of the Caves complex in Kyiv on Tuesday, with dozens of protesters surrounding the entrance and blocking officials from entering. The fate of the 1,000-year-old Pechersk Lavra complex has been in […]

Church accused of Moscow ties expelled from two parishes in western Ukraine

Ukrainian police officers stand next to St George's Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accused of being linked to Moscow, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine, on 5th April, 2023.

Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters A Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox church accused of ties with Russia was expelled from the premises of two places of worship on Wednesday amid rising public anger against the organisation 14 months into Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian police officers stand next to St George’s Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, […]

Orthodox Church accused by Kyiv of Moscow links faces eviction

Delegation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church branch loyal to Moscow, led by Metropolitan Onufriy, wait for a possible meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery issue, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 20th March, 2023

Kyiv, Ukraine Reuters Eight bishops wearing robes and mitres went to the Ukrainian President’s offices this week to try to stop their historically Russian-aligned wing of the Orthodox Church being evicted from its Kyiv headquarters. They got only as far as a checkpoint, where they were turned back, and their request for a meeting on […]

Zelenskiy: Ukraine seeks “spiritual independence”, acts against church

FILE PHOTO: Orthodox priests of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine conduct a Christmas service inside Uspenskyi (Holy Dormition) Cathedral, at the compound of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, previously used by Ukrainian Orthodox Church branch loyal to Moscow, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine January 7, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

Reuters Ukraine’s punitive actions against a branch of the Orthodox church linked to Russia are part of a drive to achieve “spiritual independence”, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday. Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian leaders have accused the long-established Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of undermining Ukrainian unity and collaborating with Moscow. Orthodox priests of the Orthodox […]

Russian Orthodox head appeals against eviction of church from Kyiv

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia conducts the Orthodox Christmas service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia, January 7, 2023.

Reuters Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Saturday asked Pope Francis and other religious leaders to persuade Ukraine to stop a crackdown against a historically Russian-aligned wing of the church. Kyiv on Friday ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave a monastery complex where it is based, the latest move against a […]