Ukraine Strips Head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Citizenship

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a decree revoking the Ukrainian citizenship of Orest Berezovsky, better known as Metropolitan Onufriy, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Security Service of Ukraine.

The SSU established that Onufriy voluntarily obtained Russian citizenship in 2002. He did not inform the authorised authorities of Ukraine about this. At the same time, he continued to enjoy the status of a Ukrainian citizen after that.

According to information available to the Security Service of Ukraine, Onufriy maintains ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and has deliberately opposed the canonical independence of the Ukrainian church from the Moscow Patriarchate, whose representatives openly support Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Despite the full-scale invasion, Onufriy continues to support the policies of the Russian Orthodox Church and its leadership, in particular Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev).

As is well known, Kirill blessed the armed aggression of Russian troops and pursues a propaganda policy of justifying and inciting genocide against the Ukrainian people. At the same time, by supporting the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, he contributes to the criminal activities of the political leadership of the aggressor country.

As The Gaze reported earlier, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has provided clarification on the issue surrounding the activities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in Ukraine.