Taking a Sledgehammer to a Nut
Ukraine’s New Law on Churches
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
A law has come into force in Ukraine that aims to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Although the church broke away from the Russian Orthodox Church after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in spring 2022, it is accused of not having formally separated. Bishops, priests, and believers are defamed as “agents of Moscow”. Patriotic forces had even called for an immediate ban and expropriation. The number of church representatives who have verifiably committed real crimes that could be considered treason is very small. The Ukrainian state is putting its international reputation at stake without gaining anything in the struggle against Moscow’s aggression. The idea of creating a national church is doomed to failure in multi-confessional Ukraine anyway.
(Osteuropa 6-7/2024, pp. 51–58)