UOC Chancellor on Kyiv Council decision targeting UOC: Obvious lawlessness

Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich). Photo: screenshot from YouTube video

On March 1, 2026, the Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Anthony, issued a statement criticizing the Kyiv Regional Council’s February 26 decision concerning the activity of religious organizations in the region.

According to the hierarch, the adopted document “in effect opens the way to the unhindered seizure of monasteries and churches” and is directed against the UOC. “Under the guise of legality, actions are being carried out that wound the hearts of millions of believers,” he stressed, adding that the Church today “is walking a thorny path,” facing new restrictions.

Metropolitan Anthony noted that the regional council’s decision recommends that district military administrations and local self-government bodies facilitate meetings on changing the canonical affiliation of communities and monitor the use of municipal property by religious organizations. “A regional council has no authority to influence the canonical affiliation of religious communities,” he said, referring to Article 19 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

In the Metropolitan’s words, the decision constitutes direct interference with freedom of religion. “Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine clearly states that the Church is separated from the state. The state is obliged to remain neutral – not to encourage changes in communities’ canonical affiliation and not to interfere in their internal life,” he emphasized. The hierarch added that administrative support for jurisdictional transfers contradicts the principles of a rule-of-law state and calls into question the observance of constitutional guarantees of religious freedom.

The UOC Chancellor also underscored that the issue of the so-called “affiliation” of the Kyiv Metropolis is being contested in court, and therefore any references to it as an established fact are premature. “A local self-government body cannot substitute itself for a court,” the hierarch stated. He added that in a law-based state such disputes must be resolved exclusively by the judiciary, not by political decisions.

As a reminder, on February 26 the Kyiv Regional Council adopted a decision titled “On implementing the legislation of Ukraine on protecting the constitutional order in the sphere of the activities of religious organizations in the Kyiv Region.” The decision recommends that district military administrations and local self-government bodies facilitate meetings on changing the subordination of religious communities, inform citizens about the procedure, and monitor the use of municipal property – including preventing its use by structures whose activity is prohibited. In essence, the document concerns the transfer of communities from the UOC to the OCU, a process that has been actively unfolding in the region in recent years.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Kyiv Regional Council called on the authorities to assist the transfer of UOC communities to the OCU.

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