Zelensky revokes citizenship of head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church

(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revoked the citizenship of Metropolitan Onufry, the senior bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The agency alleges that Onufry obtained Russian citizenship in 2002, which disqualifies him from holding Ukrainian nationality. Although Zelensky’s office has not yet publicly released the official decree, the SBU confirmed the move on Wednesday.

The revocation is part of a broader government campaign targeting the UOC, Ukraine’s largest religious body, due to its historical ties with the Moscow Patriarchate. This campaign includes criminal investigations and the seizure of church property, often transferred to the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is supported by Kiev.

Metropolitan Onufry is accused by the SBU of actively opposing the Ukrainian church’s independence from Moscow, maintaining canonical ties dating back to Imperial Russia. The creation of the OCU in 2019, recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople, deepened divisions among Orthodox Christians globally.

Last year, Ukrainian legislation threatened to ban the UOC unless it severed ties with the Russian church, drawing criticism from the UN and international human rights groups, who view the government’s actions as interference with religious freedom.

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