OCU cleric who incited hatred to UOC being sued

Oleksiy Ivanov. Photo: a screenshot of the Soyuz video

On 11 October 2024, representatives of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra submitted a statement to the Investigation Department of the SBU in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. The statement concerns the OCU cleric Oleksiy Ivanov, who is accused of justifying Russian aggression and inciting religious hatred, reports the Lavra’s lawyer, Archpriest Nikita Chekman.

According to the statement, on 6 October 2024, Ivanov made a provocative statement in the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Novosilky, Kyiv region. During his speech, he called believers and representatives of the UOC “enemies of humanity” and incited hatred towards the UOC.

“Every day we must not forget that in our country we have a war not only with Russia, which is coming at us with war, but the enemy we have here inside, at home, of which there are many and most importantly ... Then maybe you will get to know me a little bit more, separately, or somehow, I may tell you something myself, but I know like nobody else what the Russian Orthodox Church is in all its manifestations. The Ukrainian so-called Orthodox Church under the leadership of the so-called Moscow what's-his-name Onufriy – they are bitter enemies of all humanity around the world.”

Thus, Ivanov stated that hostile forces are not only outside the country, but also inside, referring to representatives of the UOC, which can be seen as an attempt to present the Russian aggression against Ukraine as an internal civil conflict. In this regard, his actions fall under part. 1 of Article 436-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (justification, recognition of lawfulness and denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation).

In addition, his words contain signs of inciting religious enmity and hatred, which is qualified under part 1 of article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (deliberate actions aimed at inciting religious enmity and insulting the feelings of citizens based their religious beliefs). Ivanov openly insulted representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, calling them “fierce enemies of humanity”.

It is noteworthy that Oleksiy Ivanov was until recently a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church. Publications and interviews with him confirm his ties to the Russian Orthodox Church, but it is unclear under what circumstances he ended up in the temple in the village of Novosilky and how he joined the OCU. Representatives of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra suspect that his actions may be aimed at destabilising the social and religious situation in Ukraine under martial law.

Lawyers of the Lavra expect further investigation and legal assessment of Ivanov's actions by law-enforcement agencies.

As reported by the UOJ, in the seized Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos of the UOC in the village of Novosilky, an OCU cleric addressed the activists who backed the seizure. During his address, he called for a fight against the “internal enemy”, which he considers the believers and clergy of the UOC.

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