Members of the Verkhovna Rada (MP), the Ukrainian parliament, just passed a new law that will effectively outlaw the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) throughout Ukraine unless it agrees to completely part ways with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
Though a definitive link between the two sects of Orthodox Christianity cannot be 100 percent verified, reports indicate that suspected ties between the two are driving Ukrainian authorities to take action by trying to silence religious expression entirely, if need be.
The legislation overtly bans all ROC establishments and their affiliated religious institutions in Ukraine. It further threatens to prohibit all other forms of Christianity in Ukraine unless the various sects agree to comply with Zelensky's anti-Russia agenda.
"Among the people, it [is called] the law banning the Moscow Church," announced Ukrainian opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak in a series of Telegram posts about the new law, which was approved by 265 deputies with only 29 voting against it and four abstaining.
Scheduled to take effect in 30 days, the legislation prohibits all activities of the ROC and its affiliates in Ukraine. The UOC will be given nine months to completely sever all ties with the ROC, whatever they might be.
(Related: Did you know that Germany has decided to stop sending new military aid to Ukraine after learning that Zelensky is responsible for bombing the Nord Stream pipelines?)
Zelensky says banning Christianity will "reinforce Ukraine's spiritual independence"
Back when Russia first began its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, the UOC declared its full autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate. Politicians in Kyiv, however, say UOC clergy is still communicating with ROC clergy, which is why Ukrainian police raids and arrests at UOC churches and facilities continue.
According to Verkhovna Rada Chairman and speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, the new legislation will effectively make "the Russian church in Ukraine" illegal. Zelensky celebrated this by declaring that the ban will "reinforce Ukraine's spiritual independence."
The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations (AUCCRO), the main organization representing all Christian denominations present in Ukraine, fully endorsed the new law. This means every "church" under its banner is in full compliance with Zelensky's anti-Russia platform.
The ROC, meanwhile, claims that UOC delegates were not even invited by AUCCRO to participate in negotiations about the law. They were deliberately excluded, Russia says, to reinforce the notion that all Ukrainian Christians are anti-Russia and agree with the law.
Interestingly, there are warring factions within the UOC that claim the other does not truly represent the UOC. The two main rival factions are the UOC and the Kyiv-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was formed as a union of two other Orthodox churches and by several members of the UOC.
The UOC remains the largest Orthodox church in Ukraine, boasting more than 8,000 parishes across the country. However, under pressure from the Zelensky regime, some of these parishes have been renouncing the UOC to join the OCU.
"Now we've got Zionists trying to reform the Christian Church?" one commenter wrote about the insanity of the Zelensky regime trying to control Christian expression in Ukraine. "What could possibly go wrong?"
"Zelensky and his criminal gang are simply doing the work of his father, the devil," wrote another.
"Churches will talk to other churches, and to anyone and everyone," wrote another." It's their right. In essence, Ukraine's MPs don't want the church to exist at all."
"This is the type of stuff Nero was worried about as Rome burned around him," said someone else.
"Hitler banned synagogues and Zelensky bans Christian churches," said another. "The Bolsheviks also banned Russian Orthodoxy."
More related news about Ukrainian life under Zelensky can be found at Tyranny.news.
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