By M10News International Desk | 2 July 2025
Ukraine has revoked the citizenship of Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), after officials discovered he secretly held Russian citizenship.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Wednesday that Onufriy, also known as Orest Berezovsky, obtained Russian citizenship in 2002 but never disclosed this to Ukrainian authorities.
Last month, Ukraine’s parliament passed legislation allowing multiple citizenships, except for Russia. According to the new law, acquiring a Russian passport or serving in the Russian armed forces results in automatic loss of Ukrainian nationality.
Despite Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine beginning in 2022, Onufriy has continued supporting the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and its leader, Patriarch Kirill. Kirill is known for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his vocal endorsement of Moscow’s military aggression against Ukraine.
The UOC-MP has faced increased scrutiny since 2022 amid accusations that it undermines Ukraine’s efforts to achieve ecclesiastical independence from Moscow. The church remains legally subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, unlike the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which received autonomy in 2019 from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
In 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law banning religious organizations affiliated with Russia. This move, widely seen as targeting the UOC-MP, followed multiple criminal investigations into its clergy for alleged collaboration with Russian forces and dissemination of pro-Kremlin propaganda.
The SBU reports that over 100 UOC-MP clergy members have been investigated, with nearly 50 charged and 26 convicted so far.
Meanwhile, concerns are rising that the Kremlin is using Russian Orthodox convents in Europe to spread pro-Russian propaganda. One such institution, the Pühtitsa Convent in eastern Estonia, has drawn government scrutiny for allegedly promoting narratives favorable to Moscow despite claiming to have severed ties with the Kremlin.
Estonian authorities suspect the convent maintains links with the Moscow Patriarchate and is part of a wider effort to disseminate propaganda supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine.
