FSB in robes and Ukrainian lands: Supreme Court's decision

They went all the way to the Supreme Court but lost. Now the land and religious buildings are the property of the community.

After Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014, the parliament passed a law regarding the names of religious organizations whose centers are located in the territory of the aggressor country. This happened before the signing of the Tomos in Istanbul, which was supposed to make the Ukrainian church independent from Russia.

All religious communities that had a center of influence in a hostile state (there were more than 11,000 of them) had to make changes to their names and charters and report them directly. Ukrainians had to realize which church they were attending. Moscow priests were given three months to comply with the law; failure to do so resulted in losing their status as religious organizations. This was the basis for the Supreme Court's decision. The panel was chaired by Judge Ivan Mishchenko, who had been defending the country since the full-scale invasion began, along with judges Inna Berdnik and Vitalii Zuev.

Naturally, the pro-Russian MPs from the previous term opposed these legal changes and appealed to the Constitutional Court, but their appeal was rejected in 2022.

Among those who attempted to defend the priests in the Constitutional Court were Yurii Boiko, who was awarded Hero of Ukraine title, and Nestor Shufrych, who faced treason charges. Vadym Novynskyi, who resigned his mandate and went to Germany to bolster the work of the Moscow Patriarchate, along with Oleksandr Vilkul, brothers Mykhailo and Dmytro Dobkin, and Volodymyr Lytvyn, also signed the sanctioned letter.

This isn’t the first Supreme Court ruling regarding the Moscow Patriarchate. In the spring, the Grand Chamber recognized the legal right of a religious community to transfer from the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

On Independence Day this year, parliament backed the draft law "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Field of Religious Organizations." Now, there is a mechanism in place to counter propaganda disguised as religious activity.

MP Mykola Kniazhytskyi states that this is one of the two laws Russia aims to repeal if Trump wins the presidency in the U.S.

Read also: Kremlin wants Trump to overturn Ukraine's language, Russian church laws - MP reacts

This is why the actions of Moscow priests - who represent one of the largest networks of hostile agents - require constant scrutiny. Effective political strategies need to be developed to counteract such activities.

Specially for Espreso

About the author. Iryna Fedoriv, journalist and lecturer, leader of the public initiative Holka

The editors don't always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.