From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
Lviv Oblast has become the first in Ukraine to be free of any registered religious communities of the Russian Orthodox Church, Lviv Regional Military Administration head Maksym Kozytskyi announced on Nov. 29.
“Today is a historic day for Lviv Oblast — the area has been cleansed of religious communities that are under the Moscow Patriarchate,” he emphasized.
Kozytskyi reported that prior to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in 2014, there were 66 religious communities of the Moscow Patriarchate in Lviv Oblast. As of Feb. 24, 2022, that number had dropped to 54.
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The head of the regional administration noted that during the course of the war, 27 communities joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, while another 27 ceased their activities voluntarily.
“The fate of these religious communities once again proves the absence of a future in manipulation and deceit. There are only two paths — truth or lies. And the truth will inevitably prevail!” Kozytskyi stressed.
Law banning the Russian Orthodox Church
On Aug. 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced preparations for a decision to strengthen Ukraine’s spiritual independence. On Aug. 16, the parliamentary committee on humanitarian and informational policy recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt a draft law banning the activities of religious organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church.
On Aug. 17, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations supported the legislative initiative to ban the ROC in Ukraine.
Voice of Ukraine 