Ukraine’s authorities are continuing to target the church: the Verkhovna Rada has supported a bill that paves the way for the potential prohibition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed in the first reading Bill No. 8371, which is titled “On Amending Some Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine.” This bill is commonly referred to as the one that restricts religious organizations affiliated with Russia.

This development was reported by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the “Holos” faction in the Ukrainian Parliament, in his Telegram channel.

The bill was supported by 267 parliamentarians. The voting results by factions are as follows:

• “Sluga Naroda” – 175
• “European Solidarity” – 26
• “Batkivshyna” – 17
• “Platform for Life and Peace” – 1
• “For the Future” – 8
• “Holos” – 18
• “Dovira” – 12
• “Vidnovlennia Ukraine” – 0

This is a government bill that paves the way for a potential legal prohibition of the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

During the winter, the main scientific and expert department of the parliament concluded that this bill, effectively restricting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, contradicts the Constitution and may lead to societal division.

The bill has also been criticized by the World Council of Churches, which stated, “The prohibition or other collective punishment of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a whole, without clear and public evidence that the Church itself poses a real threat to Ukraine’s national security, will, in our view, be deeply divisive and counterproductive.”