Yelensky: In May, DESS to actively inspect UOC communities on ties with ROC

Viktor Yelensky, the head of Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience

In May 2025, Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) will begin an active phase of inspections of religious organizations for ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), said DESS head Viktor Yelensky in an interview with «Ukrinform».

"This will be an active process, which will finally begin in May," noted the official. According to him, preparatory work has been underway until now, including the development of a regulatory framework, instructions, and clarifications.

Yelensky explained that the law specifically prohibits the activities of the ROC, which, in his words, is "a continuation of the criminal regime of the Russian Federation, and an accomplice in its crimes against humanity," according to a resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Yelensky clarified that the DESS will investigate whether there are signs of affiliation between religious organizations and the ROC. The law defines seven signs of affiliation: participation of leaders in ROC structures, financial ties, shared founding documents, and others.

"If a single fact of affiliation is identified, a warning will be issued to the religious organization," Yelensky explained.

If such a warning is issued, the religious organization will be given the opportunity to break ties with the ROC. "If the organization complies with the warning, there will be no further claims. If it does not comply, DESS has the right to go to court, which will decide the future of the organization," stressed the DESS head.

Yelensky also assured that the state does not demand that believers change their religious convictions or rituals: "The state does not demand that Orthodox Christians under the Moscow Patriarchate betray Orthodoxy or adopt the New Julian calendar... All the state requires is to leave the religious organization that is a participant in the war against Ukraine."

According to the DESS head, religious organizations have the option to voluntarily leave the jurisdiction of the ROC by submitting a corresponding declaration: "The head of the religious organization that is officially part of the Moscow Patriarchate, but does not want to be, simply makes a statement, sends a letter there, submits to us a copy and that's it. That’s enough, this counts as fulfilling the directive."

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the DESS head assured his Romanian colleague that there is freedom of faith in Ukraine.

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