Ukrainian media claim transition to OCU is a "legal requirement"

Illustrative photo. Source: Unian

Journalists from the Ukrainian outlet Forpost staged a provocation during a live broadcast in which Metropolitan Luke of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol answered questions. They asked the head of the Zaporizhzhia Eparchy when he would join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and claimed that such a move was supposedly required by a law banning religious organizations connected to Russia, which came into effect on September 23, 2024.

In reality, no such provision exists in Law 3894.

Metropolitan Luke responded to the provocation:

"I am already in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and I am not planning to go anywhere. As for going where you are suggesting, I cannot go there because that is not a Church; it is a religious organization. But I cannot call it a church in the sense of being 'Christ's Church' because Christ does not beat anyone or force anyone to join."

As reported by UOJ, the U.S. advocacy Human Rights Watch has criticized Law 3894.

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