Ever since the war between Russia and Ukraine that started in 2022, the Ukrainian government run by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has continuously persecuted the canonical Eastern Orthodox Church in Ukraine, also known as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In 2024 Ukraine passed a new law into effect which banned the Eastern Orthodox Church in Ukraine since the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is canonically under the Patriarch of Moscow, Patriarch Kirill. The Ukrainian government, seeking to sever all ties with Russia during the war has even gone after the Church which has existed in Ukraine since the 10th century. Ever since this ban, many faithful Orthodox Christians have been left with no options for churches to attend. Law enforcement in Ukraine has also played a major role in the forceful closure of canonical Orthodox churches in the country. President Zelenskyy during this time has also converted many of the former Ukrainian Orthodox Churches into schismatic and uncanonical churches that were created by the government. Many priests and other clergy have been replaced in their own parishes by government approved priests who were not canonically ordained. This uncanonical state created Church which goes by the name “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, was uncanoniclly grated autoceoholy by the Ecumenical Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, in 2019. This action by the Ecumenical Patriarch has caused a great division in the Eastern Orthodox Church. This wrongful action has resulted in the break of break of Echaristic communion between the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church. This persecution has even been recognized by the United Nations, which is the world’s largest human rights organization. Ukraine’s persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has resulted in the sever bodily harm to many laity and clergy along with the forced closure of churches all throughout Ukraine. Many videos have been posted on social media exposing the terrible treatment by the Ukrainian governent on Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. This is an issue that is seriously affecting millions of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine. For multiple years, this persecution was not publicized and very few people outside of the country knew about it. But over the past couple of years many individuals have been trying to spread awareness about this issue to the world. In the videos we can not only see clergy and laity being harassed and jailed, but we can also see then be beaten by Ukrainian officials when they protest against the government persecuting their Church. Many major new outlets have documented this issue and it’s gained more attention as time goes on. It’s one of the few places in Europe where Christians are facing active persecution from the government. This ongoing issue teaches us that even though Christianity is the largest religion in the world, it still can be subject to persecution by powerful governments that do not like Christianity. Even though Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the largest religion in Ukraine, the government there is trying it’s absolute hardest to make the lives of the religious individuals horrible by desecrating and stealing their places of worship.

References:

Hanson, Emily, and Ricardo Reboredo. “From disparity to sustainability: Social identity,

perceived fairness, and climate cooperation.” Czech Journal of International Relations, 11

Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.32422/cjir.891.

Terzyan, Aram. “Dissecting the political landscape of war-torn Ukraine: Between internal

challenges and external threats.” Journal of Liberty and International Affairs, Institute for

Research and European Studies - Bitola, vol. 10, no. 2, 2024, pp. 137–151,

https://doi.org/10.47305/jlia24102137t.

Stetsiak, Ioann. “Features of the functioning of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church during the

Russian-ukrainian war.” Sophia. Human and Religious Studies Bulletin, vol. 22, no. 2,

2023, pp. 38–43, https://doi.org/10.17721/sophia.2023.22.8.

Ukraine: UN Experts Warn of Persecution against Ukrainian Orthodox Church | Ohchr,

www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/ukraine-un-experts-warn-persecution-against-uk

rainian-orthodox-church. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.

Mann, Brian. “Anger Grows over Ukraine’s Largest Orthodox Church, Aligned with

Moscow despite War.” NPR, NPR, 30 Sept. 2023,

www.npr.org/2023/09/30/1201065400/ukraine-russian-orthodox-church-tensions.

Markina, Daria Tarasova. “Ukraine’s President Signs Law Banning Russia-Linked

Religious Groups.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 Aug. 2024,

www.cnn.com/2024/08/24/europe/ukraine-zelensky-orthodox-church-ban-intl.

“What Does an Independent Orthodox Church Mean for Ukraine?” Ukrainian Research

Institute, 20 Mar. 2019,

www.huri.harvard.edu/news/what-does-independent-orthodox-church-mean-ukraine#:~:tex

t=The%20newly%20formed%20Orthodox%20Church,independent%20national%20churc

h%20in%20Ukraine.

Press, Associated. “1 Year after the Invasion Began, a Timeline of Russia’s War in

Ukraine.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 19 Feb. 2023,

www.pbs.org/newshour/world/1-year-after-the-invasion-began-a-timeline-of-russias-war-i

n-ukraine.