Zelensky signs Law 8371 allowing for the ban of UOC

Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: ZelenskyyUa

On August 24, 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed the Verkhovna Rada-approved bill No. 8371 "On Protecting the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations", aimed at banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

The law will come into effect 30 days after its publication. However, with the exception of one provision – according to which UOC communities will have nine months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.

As reported by the UOJ, while congratulating Ukrainians on Independence Day, the President stated that Ukrainian Orthodoxy is taking a step towards deliverance from the "Moscow demons".

Read also

U.S. bishops call for Church unity on Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy

The Assembly of Bishops of the USA has issued an encyclical for the Triumph of Orthodoxy on Church unity, veneration of icons, and support for pan-Orthodox ministry.

OCU organizes harassment of businessman for aiding UOC

Hryshchuk called for boycotting the business of the entrepreneur who built a UOC church in the Rivne region.

Head of Lavra Reserve: I believe UOC monks will move to the OCU

Ostapenko said there are 140 UOC monks and novices on the territory of the Lower Lavra.

"Shield of Judah": Biblical name given to operations against Iran

A joint Israeli–US military operation against Iran has received a code name referencing the biblical forefather of the Jewish royal line.

In Syria, Islamic militants behead statues of Christ and Virgin Mary

Vandals beheaded statues of the Lord and the Mother of God at the entrance to the "Cave of the Virgin Mary" in the village of Al-Basiya near the coastal city of Banias in Syria.

Icon with particle of Gabriel Urgebadze's relics to be brought to Uzhhorod from Georgia

The holy icon, painted in Georgia, will be brought to the Holy Trinity Church of the Mukachevo Eparchy of the UOC.