Ukraine bans Moscow-linked orthodox church

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00:00In a move that has long been threatened, Ukraine's parliament voted Tuesday to ban the Russia-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

00:07The Moscow Patriarchate's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused a schism in the Ukrainian church,

00:13even though its local leader condemned the invasion.

00:16President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the move to ban the Russia-linked affiliate.

00:22Today I want to note the work of the National Assembly.

00:26A law on our spiritual independence has been adopted.

00:30We will continue to strengthen Ukraine, our society.

00:35A view shared by one of the first bishops of the breakaway Pro-Kiev Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

00:43Given the fact that Patriarch Kirill blessed the killing of Ukrainians and the destruction of Ukrainian statehood,

00:50it is hard to imagine how one can tolerate the activities of this organization on the territory of our Ukraine,

00:57which is suffering from this war.

01:01But for ordinary worshippers who say the Moscow-aligned church they attend does not indulge in politics,

01:07things are likely to get complicated with the new ban.

01:11I'm a believer, I'm Ukrainian, and my ancestors lived here and were in this religion for years.

01:16It cannot be banned, because it belongs to the Lord.

01:19This is the monastery here, and the Lord is above us.

01:26We worry a lot about this, because if they close, people will still pray in the streets.

01:31Maybe we'll put up tents. There will be prayers anyway.

01:36The new Orthodox Church of Ukraine was granted recognition by the Eastern Church's Pope,

01:42the Patriarch of Constantinople, in 2019, three years before the Russian invasion.

01:47But getting people to switch from a church centuries old is unlikely to happen overnight.

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