The decree is from December 2022, but it does not appear on the official website of the Ukrainian head of state
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree stripping 13 priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which until May was subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, but officially renounced Moscow and condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine, from citizenship. This was reported by the Ukrainian publication “Left Bank”, citing its own sources, quoted by TASS and BTA.
According to the publication, one of those deprived of citizenship is Metropolitan Ionofan of Tulchyn and Bratslav, against whom, as Ukrainian media reported earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) charged him with inciting enmity, after which he was hospitalized for heart problems . The publication mentions among those deprived of citizenship the name of the vicar of the Tulchyn Diocese, Bishop Sergiy of Ladyzhyn.
“Left Bank” specifies that the 13 Ukrainian priests were deprived of citizenship according to Zelensky’s decree of December 2022, which does not appear on the official website of the Ukrainian head of state, according to TASS.
According to the publication, in Ukraine decrees on deprivation of citizenship are not made public, as they contain personal information. “Left Bank” indicates that the State Immigration Service of Ukraine has already received notification of the deprivation of citizenship of 13 UOC priests and they may subsequently be deported from the country.
The spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called Ukrainian President Zelensky’s decision to deprive 13 UOC priests of citizenship Satanism, TASS reported.
“And this during Orthodox Christmas! Real Satanism,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel (https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova/4536).
