In Ukraine, UOC Metropolitan Ionafan was sentenced to 5 years in prison

The court in Vinnytsia sentenced the Metropolitan of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Ionaphan to five years of imprisonment for the article on the justification of Russian aggression. According to the investigation, Ionafan distributed pro-Russian leaflets among the faithful, posted an article on the diocese’s website in which he declared the supremacy of the Moscow Patriarchate, and supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In total, the court found the cleric guilty on four counts: encroachment on territorial integrity, actions aimed at violent change or overthrow of the constitutional system, denial of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, and violation of religious equality of citizens.

Metropolitan Ionathan of Tulchinsky and Bratslav (in the world – Anatoly Eleckikh) became the first acting head of the diocese sentenced to a real term during the confrontation between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian authorities. Earlier, in the Kirovohrad region, the former head of the local diocese, Metropolitan Ioasaf (Nikolai Gubenya), was sentenced to three years in prison for spreading pro-Russian propaganda.

The diocese said that the metropolitan had already filed an appeal against the sentence.

• The UOC is one of the two largest Orthodox religious organizations of Ukraine, along with the autocephalous OCU. Before the war, it was called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. After the beginning of the invasion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared “independence” from the Moscow Patriarchate, but this independence was not legally formalized. The authorities of Ukraine believe that a number of priests and hierarchs of the UOC take a pro-Russian position and accuse them of anti-state activities.
• The SBU conducts searches and other checks in monasteries and churches of the UOC. According to the statement of the Ukrainian special services, during the searches they find pro-Russian literature and evidence that makes it possible to suspect the clerics of cooperation with the Russian army and the FSB.
• The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights noted in its recent report that the actions of the Ukrainian authorities in relation to the UOC may be discriminatory in nature. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on the UN to refrain from unbalanced political assessments.