Ukraine is preparing to adopt a ‘brazen’ law prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – professor of law mentioned in the article is William Berk-White

Ukraine is preparing to adopt a “brazen” law prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

This opinion reported by William Berk-White, a professor of law at the Carey Law School of the University of Pennsylvania, in a column on The Hill’s website.

“This law will not only curtail the freedom of worship for millions of Ukrainians but also undermine Ukraine’s main pillar of defense against Russian aggression – adherence to the rule of law,” writes White.

White believes that the Ukrainian government should “rethink” this “dangerous” draft law since approximately 16% of the Ukrainian population are members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and this document violates their freedom of religion.

“Despite its historical ties to Russian Orthodoxy, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church staunchly supports Ukraine’s lawful self-defense against Russian aggression,” the professor reminds.

He points out that this draft law is just the “most audacious” in a series of attacks on the church in Ukraine.

“According to the US State Department’s report on religious freedom for 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine conducted 41,000 investigations against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, alleging cooperation with Russia, and searched 350 church buildings. In December 2022, sanctions were imposed on seven high-ranking members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, including Metropolitan Paul Lebed. In March 2023, authorities attempted to expel clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Criminal charges were filed against church leaders and parishioners, often without any grounds. These attacks on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church constitute a gross violation of human rights. The Ukrainian Parliament is well aware of the path it is treading,” the article states.

On October 19, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted in the first reading for draft law No. 8371, “On Amending Some Laws of Ukraine on the Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine.”

This draft law is referred to as a law prohibiting religious organizations affiliated with Russia. It is a government-initiated draft law that paves the way for the judicial prohibition of the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

In the winter, the Main Scientific Expert Department of the Parliament concluded that this draft law, effectively prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, contradicts the Constitution and could lead to a schism in society.

The World Council of Churches also criticized it, stating, “The prohibition or any other collective punishment of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a whole, without clear and public evidence that the church itself poses a genuine threat to Ukraine’s national security, will, in our view, be deeply divisive and counterproductive.”