Thread by @OxanaShevel

Don't be duped indeed! Tankies & propagandists in hysterics abt “ban on Orthodox religion” in 🇺🇦 today, but let’s take a deeper dive into what actually happened. 🧵The law voted today creates procedure 2ban religious orgs w/ties to 🇷🇺. This isn't ban on Orthodoxy & ties to 🇷🇺 1/

https://twitter.com/oonuch/status/1825912128038977551

2/ r not a requirement of Orthodox faith. If Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) chooses 2sever its ties w/Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) it will not be banned. And if it will not then it only goes to show that for its leadership ties to ROC, which is

3/arm of the murderous russian state that called invasion of Ukraine a holy war, are more important than its parishioners in Ukraine. But even in this case any “ban” will come only after legal process involving judicial review and right of appeal. So why is this law necessary?

4/ becauseUOC-MP remains tied to ROC, and as such remains conduit of ROC’s Russkii Mir (Russian World) ideology which denies distinct Ukrainian nationhood& statehood & peddles quasi-religious claims that there is a ‘tri-unite Russian nation’ (& no separate Ukrainian nation)

5/ & that salvation is only possible with unity with Moscow. This ideology has been condemned by Orthodox theologians & scholars btw. orthodoxyindialogue.com/2022/03/13/a-d…

6/ 🇺🇦 is at war & religious institution that refuses to sever ties with ROC presents genuine national security threat. Ukrainian state has full right to take action, but being a democracy places limits on how the state can act. This law strikes a balance.

7/ The procedure to ban a religious org tied to 🇷🇺will involve religious expertise to show that such ties exist, the org will be instructed by state to sever ties by amending its docs (such as statute), and will have 90 days to do so. If it complies it is off the hook

8/ if it does not, the ban itself will be decided by court decision(s). So this is actually very mild set of measures – some argue that the law may be not very effective de facto, given that there are some 8,000 UOC-MP parishes & each one a legal entity.

9/ So the outcry is both misplaced (the law doesn’t “ban on Orthodoxy”) and exaggerated (it may not lead to much change). But what about UOC-MP claim that it no longer has any ties with ROC after May 2022 when its council amended its statute?

10/ The severance of ties was only partial. The statute retains references to 1990 ruling of ROC according to which UOC-MP status is a constituent part of ROC (all Orthodox churches recognize it as such, not one recognizes it as a separate church). To boot,

11/ UOC-MP bishops continue to sit on ROC ruling bodies. Why not resign their position on the ruling bodies of religious institution that blesses war on 🇺🇦& weapons that kill Ukrainians? Why doesn't MP leadership condemn ROC 4stealing its eparchies on occupied territory or its

12/ clergy charged with collaboration? More than 100 priests are under investigation, more than 50 charged, 26 already sentenced according to SBU. No other religious denomination has this problem btw. At the same time, UOC-MP is relentlessly condemning Ukrainian state & another

13/ Orthodox church (Ukrainian Orthodox Church (OCU) for “stealing” its parishes? More often than not transfer of parishes 2OCU is initiated by parishioners who do not want to stay in Moscow-affiliated church any longer. Polls show that UOC-MP, despite its claims to being

14/ “largest denomination”, completely lost trust of Ukrainian citizens. Just 6% identify with the church (Razumkov poll) , 82% want the state to ban it or regulate it (KIIS poll). religionpravda.com.ua/?p=9033913/
life.pravda.com.ua/society/63-ukr…

15/ if you are an American, think about this (imperfect but still) analogy. During the Revolution, in 1776, Congress and several states passed laws making prayers for the king and British Parliament acts of treason. Anglican church became Episcopal church. Was this an assault on

16/ religious freedom or a legitimate measure by the state given that it was fighting for independence from the British? There is a lot more to the overall situation with Orthodox churches in 🇺🇦 but the long short of it is that claims of “ban on Orthodoxy” is a hoax

17/ & misrepresentation & OUC-MP leadership needs to decide if it is with Moscow or with Ukraine. END