UOC MP delays the court case on liquidation: what is happening

The Moscow church is delaying the consideration of the case on the liquidation of the Kyiv Metropolis, - said the head of the State Service for Ethnopolitics Viktor Yelensky. According to him, the church's lawyers are trying to slow down the process using aggressive methods and abusing legal procedures. The church denies the fact of receiving the order confirmed by Metropolitan Onufriy.

“They say they didn’t receive the order, while the Metropolitan of Kyiv wrote in his letter that we received your order and will not comply with it. […] They constantly tell lies and are dragging out time because if the consideration of the case begins in substance, they will have to explain why they do not want to leave the organization that is a direct participant in the war against Ukraine.”

According to the lawyer of the metropolis Mykyta Chekman, more than a thousand applications from believers have been submitted to join the case as third parties, but only 300 of them are in the office, which has led to the postponement of the consideration. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for December.

Reminder about the status of the Kyiv Metropolis

The UOC Metropolis has been recognized as an affiliated foreign religious organization, which is contrary to the legislation. The State Service of Ukraine demanded to sever ties with the Russian church by August 18.

Ukrainian authorities continue to fight for independence and separation from the Russian Orthodox Church, which contradicts the interests of the Moscow Patriarchate, which seeks to maintain control over Ukrainian church structures. The consideration of the case on the liquidation of the Kyiv Metropolis is an important step in Ukraine's state policy on separation from Russia.