A bill that would outlaw any institutional ties to the Russian Orthodox Church has been introduced into the Ukrainian parliament.
It's a move that comes following the murder of several priests of Ukraine's independent Orthodox Church, a change in allegiance by a number of Russian Orthodox churches to its Ukrainian counterpart and alleged reports of espionage based in the Russian churches.
The bill, introduced Tuesday by Verkhovna Rada deputy Oksana Savchuk, would consolidate the remaining churches and monasteries used by the Russian Orthodox church.
"Verkhovna Rada will review the law to protect national security and sovereignty of Ukraine," Savchuk wrote in the introduction to the bill. "We want to prevent collusion, religious tensions and stabilize the religious environment in Ukraine."
If passed, the legislation would stop all activities of the Russian Church on Ukrainian soil. Any property or land would be confiscated by Ukraine's government within 48 hours and all religious communities that answer to Russia's patriarchate will have 14 days to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Centuries old religious cultural landmarks that, on paper, belong to the Russian Orthodox Church will be transferred into public ownership of the communities that use them. Finally, charges could be levied against any person who colluded with Russia or spied on Ukraine.
Ukraine and Russia are both part of the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity, which is headed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey). The Constantinople Patriarchate serves as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the "first among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox church.
Until 2019, Ukraine's Orthodox church was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. That changed when Ukraine's former president, Petro Poroshenko, successfully pushed for the creation of a completely independent Orthodox Ukraine branch, which was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople.
However, the many religious communities that chose to remain under Russia's jurisdiction have not been, as of now, interfered with and were allowed to hold property all across Ukraine.
Regardless, Russia vehemently opposed the move and does not recognize Ukraine's church as independent.
Tensions and suspicion increased between the two religious communities at the start of Russia's invasion in late February.
Ihor Solovey, the abbot to Spaso-Preobrazhensʹka Tserkva in Okhtyrka, a northern Ukrainian city nearly destroyed by Russian bombing, told Newsmax that townspeople started sharing information about alleged espionage efforts by priests of the Russian Orthodox-owned Holy Trinity Monastery.
The priests were accused of using drones to record aerial footage of the city to locate Ukraine's armed forces, which they then passed to the Russian army.
"It's an interesting story, on the one side many argue against its validity, on the other, every town resident is completely sure of it," he explained.
Newsmax could not verify the report.
Other reports, however, were confirmed by either the National Police or Ukraine's security services.
On the second day of the war, a man pretending to be Ukrainian was captured by Kyiv's police and later revealed to be a priest loyal to the Russian Orthodox patriarch. His capture was first reported by Anton Herashenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs. The man carried tools used for artillery strike precision. The report was later confirmed by the investigative agency Bellingcat.
Additionally, there have been reports of both abductions and murders of religious leaders that serve the independent Orthodox church of Ukraine, including a military chaplain killed March 13 in the occupied eastern city of Volnovakha.
"The mission of a military chaplain is to be close to our defenders and support their spirituality, in any condition, any circumstance. Sometimes at the cost of his own life. We regret to inform you that Russians have killed our chaplain, Platon Morhunov," said a statement from the church's press service.
On Wednesday, Serhiy Chudynovych, a priest, volunteer and civic leader was abducted by Russians in the occupied Southern city of Kherson, according to the local news agency Vhoru.
The report said the men that abducted Serhiy presented themselves as police, searched his phone and the church he serves and took him away. He hasn't been seen since.
Regardless, Epiphanius I, the head of Ukraine's independent Orthodox church, reported that "tens of communities, monasteries in various regions of Ukraine" have joined Ukraine's denomination.
"The door to Ukraine's Orthodox church and our hearts are open to anyone who's willing to join us," a statement by Epiphanius I said.
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