Ban on Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine: Between Religious Freedom and National Security

On Tuesday, August 20, the Ukrainian parliament approved a law that would ban the Russian Orthodox Church in its territory. Although the majority of Ukrainians are of the Orthodox confession, the church split from its Russian roots and created an independent branch. The term is “autocephalous,” meaning that it has its own head.

According to the International Institute of Sociology in Kiev, 72% of the population declared their allegiance to an Eastern Orthodox Church. 54% of Ukrainians proclaimed their adherence to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine; 14% identified themselves as Orthodox Christians without specifying an ecclesiastical affiliation; 4% associated themselves with the Moscow Patriarchate.

Given the figures, this ban can be questioned from both a conservative and a progressive perspective. On the one hand, it sets a precedent for religious freedom. While several Western leaders are siding with Ukraine, this value is being overlooked. On the other, it excludes minorities; at a time when inclusion is a predominant discourse.

Ukraine accuses complicity and espionage

In its defense, Ukraine accuses the Russian Orthodox Church of being complicit in the invasion that has been going on for more than 30 months and even of harboring spies.

“It is a historic decision! Parliament approved a law banning a branch of the aggressor country in Ukraine,” announced MP Irina Gerashchenko, according to Orthodox Times.

In turn, she says that MP Jaroslav Gelezniak announced the support of 265 deputies, exceeding the minimum required of 226 votes. The new law also bans religious organizations associated with the Moscow-linked church. These bans will become effective after a court decision.

The support is not only political but religious. The Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Communities supports the ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOK). The council is made up of several churches of Christian denominations, as well as representatives of the Jewish and Islamic communities. They support the demand of President Volodymyr Zelensky. He demands complete «spiritual independence.»

Historical background

For a Westerner, it is necessary to clarify that in the East the church is divided into patriarchates. First, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Roman Empire in the East (the Byzantine Empire) stood for another 1,000 years (1453) until it fell to the advance of the Islamic Caliphate. Where Constantinople passed to its Istanbul (Turkey) and over time iconic churches, such as Hagia Sophia, were converted into mosques.

But earlier, during the Byzantine Empire, the Great Schism of 1054 occurred. The Eastern churches separated from Rome, giving rise to four patriarchates: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Then came the four more recent patriarchates: Russia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. So, as its name suggests, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is autocephalous.

Unlike the Catholic Church, which in Greek means universal, both Protestantism and Orthodoxy often have a link with nationalism. Anglicanism, for example, was born with the king proclaiming himself head of the Church of England. A model that was not later adopted in the USA.

On the contrary, during the years of the struggle for independence, the loyalty of Americans to the crown and to its church was measured equally. This is why there is an enigma surrounding George Washington’s Faith. Freemasonry, for example, claims he was one of their own. At the same time, in 1750 the British Empire demanded that he swear his loyalty to the Church of England and publicly announce that he was not Catholic (and that he did not believe in transubstantiation). Until then, he had a very good relationship with the bishop and was an active donor for the construction of Catholic churches in the colonies. There are even those who claim that he adopted the Catholic Faith on his deathbed. Perhaps even as the final result of its fight for freedom and defying an empire that imposed a creed on it. Whichever the case, the United States was born as a Christian nation. It did not impose an official religion.

Therefore it is unthinkable that the State can prohibit a creed, much less an over a thousand-year-old Christian denomination. So there are two ways of looking at it: either one, Zelensky is not the hero of democracy but a tyrant and the defense of Christianity is evident in his Russian counterpart, as many believe, or else Moscow’s expansionist desire is such that even the Orthodox Church serves as an instrument, as the Ukrainian government claims. Time will tell.

Mamela Fiallo Flor

Mamela Fiallo Flor es profesora de lengua e historia, columnista y conferencista. Plasma su amor por la libertad y pasión por la verdad en cada nota.

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