Attn: R. Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
M. Poturaiev, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy
A public call
We, the members of the NGO “Sophia Brotherhood”, which brings together clergy and laity of different Orthodox jurisdictions, are calling on you to address the draft law No. 8371, which was previously titled “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Activities of Religious Organizations in Ukraine” and was submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and which the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy has unanimously recommended to the Verkhovna Rada to be adopted in the second reading.
Primarily, we would like to underline the essential role of the state in terms of spiritual security and the importance of state institutions’ participation in normalizing relations between the members of different religious communities, which is being realized, in particular, by adopting laws in the field of national security, human rights and freedoms protection in the activity of religious organizations.
Regrettably, the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy today is endangered by internal confrontation between jurisdictions, fostered by the dominance of corporate solidarity over the preaching of unity and understanding. However, this confrontation is largely due to the impact of external factors affecting religious life in Ukraine, which, in turn, originate from the religious (and other) centers of the invading country.
“Sophia Brotherhood” considers the main goal of its activities to be the comprehensive promotion of inter-Orthodox dialogue in order to achieve the unity of Ukrainian Orthodoxy. Today, at this crucial time for Ukraine, we call for the consolidation of society in protecting the country from both the territorial and religious claims of the occupier. For this reason, we support the state’s positive legislative steps to address threats to public and national security, the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Ukraine, including those of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy.
Along with this, it should be noted that the text of draft law No. 8371, submitted for the second reading, is significantly different from the one submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers to the Verkhovna Rada. Essentially, the Ukrainian parliament is being asked to create a new separate law that would strictly regulate the activities of religious communities in Ukraine. The complete disregard for the comments and proposals developed and submitted by the relevant executive body, the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, as evidenced by the video recording of the Committee meeting, also caused our concern.
A review of the document reveals issues that may result from the implementation of the proposed version of the draft law. This primarily concerns the mechanisms for dissolving a religious organization that are laid down in the draft law. Preventing the activity of a religious organization should be carried out pursuant to international law on freedom of conscience and Ukraine’s obligations in connection with its accession to the Council of Europe. In this regard, any reference to national security cannot serve as a legitimate basis for restricting religious activity.
Article 3 of the draft law provides for the prohibition of the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church on the territory of Ukraine. Yet, this runs counter to the current legislation of Ukraine, which makes no provision for the automatic liquidation of a legal entity “by law.” The law’s prohibition of the Russian Orthodox Church will serve only as a declarative measure and will not have any legal consequences in terms of any particular mechanism for its implementation. Moreover, the drafters of the new version of the law remove all religious groups affiliated with centers in the country that has committed aggression against Ukraine from the list of religious organizations whose activities are not allowed in Ukraine, except for those affiliated only with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Additionally, we would like to note that the submitted draft law substantially limits the issue of liability of religious organizations of the aggressor country, focusing exclusively on the Russian Orthodox Church and, accordingly, its affiliated religious organizations. It is well known that not only the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill Hundiaev, but all significant religious organizations in Russia (including Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, representatives of Protestant communities, etc.) supported the war against Ukraine. Thus, the lopsided portrayal of support for Russian aggression by religious organizations looks more like an attempt to find a scapegoat than responsible and meaningful lawmaking.
We would also like to draw attention to the use of the “Russian world” ideologeme in the draft law. “Sophia Brotherhood” has been constantly and persistently denouncing and condemning the neo-imperial ideology, inimical to the spirit and meaning of the Holy Gospel, which has grown in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church and is being promoted through its structural units in various countries of the world. However, in order to use this term in legislative matters, it needs a clear and unambiguous definition. Because the concept of the “Russian world,” its views, convictions, attitudes, etc. have not yet been established and generally accepted, and cannot be a criterion for public lawmaking. The text of the draft law contains only vague negative assessments instead of a clear definition of this neo-imperial ideology. The introduction of this term in the legal sphere will be unreasonable without a clear definition of the “Russian world,” its features, principles of its functioning and system of dissemination, and will leave a large field for manipulation when the adopted law is used in practice. That is why liability for propaganda of the Russian World ideology requires additional legislative regulation.
Ukraine is perhaps the only post-Soviet country with a high level of religious freedom. This is internationally recognized, and we call for this unique feature of our country not to be lost. However, we are convinced that those who collaborate with the enemy need to be punished. That is why we urge the Ukrainian parliament to abstain from rash actions and get back to preparing the draft law for the second reading, engaging relevant expert circles and representatives of all stakeholders in its discussion to address this vital issue in line with the principles of equality and freedom.