The government has been conducting a crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for years
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has revoked the citizenship of the seniormost bishop of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the SBU security agency reported on Wednesday.
According to the agency, it has evidence that 80-year-old Metropolitan Onufry obtained Russian citizenship in 2002, and thus was no longer eligible to hold Ukrainian citizenship. Zelensky has reportedly ordered the church leader to no longer be considered a Ukrainian national, although his office has yet to publish the decree.
Zelensky’s government has been cracking down on the largest religious organization in Ukraine for years, claiming the measures are necessary due to the UOC’s historic ties with Russia.
The broad campaign of criminal investigations against the clergy has been accompanied by the seizure of property by supporters of the rival Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which is backed by Kiev. The UOC says it is being victimized by the government.
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