German theologian: Ban on the UOC violates freedom of religion

German theologian Thomas Bremer. Photo: UOJ

On November 6, 2025, the portal Nachrichten Östlicher Kirchen (NÖK) published an article by German theologian Thomas Bremer analyzing the European Commission’s report on Ukraine’s progress. The report expresses concern over Law No. 3894-IX, which is being used against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).

Bremer notes that since the law came into force, the situation of the UOC has sharply deteriorated. According to him, authorities – particularly the Department for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience headed by Viktor Yelensky – are seeking a judicial ban on the Church and the confiscation of its property.

He highlights numerous local violations: church seizures, pressure on clergy, and persecution, particularly of Metropolitan Arseniy (Yakovenko), abbot of the Sviatohirsk Lavra, whom, as Bremer stresses, “the SBU persecutes arbitrarily.”

For the first time, Bremer points out, the European Commission has directly emphasized that Ukraine must comply with international standards of freedom of conscience when implementing this law. Brussels, he writes, demands that Kyiv ensure its fight against “Russian influence” does not lead to the restriction of fundamental civil rights, especially at local and regional levels.

The theologian recalls that Law No. 3894-IX, which came into effect in September 2024, effectively allows Ukrainian authorities to seek a court ban on the UOC under the pretext of its “ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.” Since then, he writes, the Church’s situation has worsened considerably: legal proceedings have been initiated against it, and religious policy agencies have begun publishing lists of monasteries and eparchies subject to inspection and confiscation.

Such actions, Bremer argues, contradict the European principles of the rule of law on which Ukraine’s integration into the EU is founded. He stresses that a state seeking EU membership must demonstrate respect for religious freedom rather than use wartime conditions as a justification for restricting believers’ rights.

“To limit rights under the pretext of war is dangerous,” warns the German theologian, noting that such an approach sets a perilous precedent and undermines the democratic foundations of the state. Europe, he concludes, is closely monitoring the situation and expects Kyiv to take real steps to safeguard freedom of conscience and religion.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada had called the moral foundations of society “a Soviet relic.”

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