UOC Challenges Legality of State Service

KYIV — The Kiev Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has filed a lawsuit against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, seeking to invalidate the legal framework that established the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, the government agency that has spearheaded efforts against the Church in recent years.

According to Archpriest Nikita Chekman, who serves as legal counsel for the UOC, the lawsuit argues that the Cabinet of Ministers unlawfully delegated powers to the State Service that, under Ukrainian law governing central executive bodies, may only be exercised by ministries. The plaintiff contends that this redistribution of authority violates both the Constitution of Ukraine and existing legislation.

The legal challenge comes after years of escalating conflict between the State Service and the UOC. In 2023, the agency concluded, based on documents of the Russian Orthodox Church, that the UOC remained subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. Since then, the Service has pursued actions aimed at closing dioceses, monasteries, and parishes throughout Ukraine.

The Kyiv Metropolitanate specifically cites the agency's investigations, directives, and its separate lawsuit seeking the dissolution of the Metropolitanate as a legal entity and the transfer of its property to the state as the immediate causes of the present action. The Church is asking the court to declare the government resolutions establishing the State Service unlawful and void, and to require the Cabinet of Ministers to dissolve the agency.

The lawsuit argues that state bodies operating in matters of religious freedom and religious organizations must act strictly within the authority granted by the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine.

Previously, the UOJ reported that Metr. Onuphry marked the Feofania Council anniversary with a call for peace.