The State Service for Ethnopolitics filed a lawsuit to liquidate the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC-MP

The State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) officially filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Administrative Court to terminate the activities of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

This is reported by Ukrinform .

Head of the DESS Viktor Yelenskyy emphasized that the lawsuit was filed on Friday and will be considered in accordance with the procedure established by law.

He noted that the DESS will do everything possible to prevent the issue from being “drowned” in legal spam, as similar attempts have been observed before. He emphasized that if the court grants the lawsuit, the Kyiv Metropolis of the UOC-MP will be deprived of the status of a legal entity and will lose the right to subjectivity.

This means that the central body of the church – the metropolia itself – will cease to exist as a legal entity. At the same time, according to Yelensky, this does not imply a mandatory transition of parishes to another church structure. Parishes can remain independent if they wish, and the state does not oblige them to join another religious organization.

The head of the DESS emphasized that the lawsuit aims to regulate the legal status of the Kyiv Metropolis and ensure compliance with the law, and not to directly affect believers. The trial may determine the further legal status of this church structure and its central body.

Recall that on August 27, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS) officially recognized the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church , whose activities are prohibited in Ukraine. This decision was the result of a long-term investigation that revealed signs of the UOC’s subordination to a foreign religious organization.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree terminating the citizenship of Orest Berezovsky, known as Metropolitan Onufriy of the UOC (MP).

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