A letter to Moscow as a trap for UOC from Yelensky: How not to fall into it
Head of DESS, Viktor Yelensky, has announced inspections of UOC parishes and proposed an “easy” solution to avoid trouble – a letter to the ROC. But this is not just a trick or a trap – it is an outright snare.
A few days ago, DESS chief Viktor Yelensky declared that beginning in May 2025, his agency would start checking religious organizations for ties to the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). This means putting into practice the law adopted on August 20, 2024, commonly referred to as the "law banning the UOC," although its official name is "On the Protection of the Constitutional Order in the Activities of Religious Organizations."
According to Yelensky, DESS will check each UOC parish for ties to the ROC. During the adoption of the law, this proposal sparked much debate: with over 10,000 UOC communities, examining each one, issuing conclusions, holding trials, and only then banning them is a long and cumbersome process, requiring vast administrative resources. UOC supporters argued it would be nearly impossible to prove a connection between a small rural parish and the ROC. Opponents demanded the UOC be banned entirely without such investigations. Yelensky, however, devised a more clever 'trick'.
Let us not forget: the goal of the current Ukrainian government is not to sever fictional ties with the ROC or to strip Russia of influence it doesn’t possess, but to destroy the UOC. To achieve this, the authorities play the classic good cop/bad cop routine: the bad cop – security forces and radical activists; the good cop – Yelensky.
Everyone has seen the violent assaults by radicals during church seizures, the baseless arrests by law enforcement, and the illegal transfers of parishes to the OCU. Naturally, no one wants to become the next victim. And now, with the law in full effect, every UOC community faces this threat. "It will be an active process, starting in May," Yelensky warns. Fear is the intended reaction.
But as the "good cop," Yelensky isn’t asking for much. "The state does not require Orthodox believers in the Moscow Patriarchate to betray Orthodoxy or switch to the New Julian calendar... All the state asks is that they leave the religious organization involved in the war against Ukraine" – that is, the ROC, he says. And he even explains how easy it is.
No need to consult anyone, raise the issue at a diocesan or metropolitan level. All it takes is a small letter. To Moscow. "The head of a religious organization officially within the Moscow Patriarchate, but unwilling to remain so, simply writes a statement, sends it there, and gives us a copy – that’s enough, the requirement is met," Yelensky assures.
So a hypothetical rural priest just needs to send a letter to Patriarch Kirill or the ROC Synod, stating that their parish is leaving the ROC, and forward a copy to Yelensky.
Then, as the tale goes, all problems vanish – no raids, no harassment, no searches. But this story is for the very naïve. Here’s why.
Where’s the catch?
First, the law provides seven criteria for determining ROC affiliation. And a letter to Patriarch Kirill doesn’t cancel any of them:
1. The UOC community or its diocese is part of the ROC.
2. Official UOC documents contain signs of belonging to the ROC.
3. ROC documents indicate the community’s inclusion in its structure.
4. ROC documents provide for UOC representatives in governing bodies.
5. The ROC can influence the community’s activities.
6. The ROC blesses the Kyiv Metropolitan after election.
7. The ROC approves the parish’s charter.
Only one of these is enough to justify a ban. Some, like points 3, 4, 6, 7, are based on ROC documents that the UOC cannot control. After the 2022 UOC Council in Feofania, all ROC references were removed from the UOC Statute. But Moscow ignores this Council – much to the delight of DESS and Yelensky.
No letter from a village priest can erase the ROC’s Charter that names the UOC a part of its structure. So Yelensky can still lawfully shut down any parish – letter or not.
Second, Yelensky, as a civil servant, knows full well that a resignation letter is not valid until accepted. Is it likely that Patriarch Kirill would personally approve every such letter, relinquishing Ukrainian parishes? Hardly. So Yelensky would still claim the parish hasn’t left the ROC.
Third, canon law forbids priests from acting without their bishop’s consent. Apostolic Canon 39: “Let presbyters and deacons do nothing without the bishop.” Writing such a letter without the blessing of the diocesan bishop or the UOC Synod effectively removes a priest from the UOC – putting him in a canonical void. But a community must remain canonically tied to a bishop. Who will that be after such a letter?
Though Ukraine’s Constitution declares church-state separation, in reality the government actively promotes the OCU and its overlord – the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Since 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew has insisted that all Ukrainian parishes fall under his jurisdiction. So any parish that writes to Moscow will likely be assigned to the structure recognized by Constantinople as operating in Ukraine – and we all know which one that is.
Fourth,
by sending a letter to the ROC, a priest confirms that his parish was, until now, part of the ROC.
One can debate whether the UOC belonged to the ROC after 1990 or was simply connected to global Orthodoxy through it. But after the UOC Council in Feofania on May 27, 2022, such ambiguity ended. Point 4 of the Council’s Resolution states: “The Council adopted changes to the UOC Statute confirming its full autonomy and independence.”
The UOC Primate’s letter to DESS adds: “
“As a result of the Council’s work, amendments and additions were made to the Statute on the Governance of the UOC, which testify not only to administrative independence – which had already existed in accordance with the Gramota (Tomos) of Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia dated October 27, 1990 – but also to the full canonical autonomy of the UOC and its separation from the Moscow Patriarchate.
Thus, all provisions regarding the connection of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church were removed from the UOC’s Statute on Governance. In particular, this includes the clause that stated the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a self-governing part of the ROC. From now on, the decisions of ROC Councils are not binding for the Council of Bishops of the UOC. The Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine has ceased to be a member of the Holy Synod of the ROC. The Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now elected for life by the UOC episcopate without any subsequent blessing. During services in all churches and monasteries of the UOC, the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is no longer commemorated.”
In other words, all ROC-related language was removed. The UOC is no longer named a self-governing part of the ROC; ROC council decisions no longer bind the UOC bishops; the Kyiv Metropolitan ceased participation in the ROC Synod; and Patriarch Kirill is no longer commemorated liturgically.
So now, a parish priest writing to Kirill confirms that all of this meant nothing – that his community was still part of the ROC until the moment he wrote the letter. He effectively denies the authority of the UOC Council – its highest governing body.
The result is paradoxical:
He declares by his own hand that he is not a UOC cleric but a ROC one.
Fifth, such letters will undoubtedly cause division among UOC clergy and bishops. Many priests – likely the majority – will refuse. And so, those who do not comply will face additional pressure and repression.
Conclusion
The UOC has not been part of the ROC since May 27, 2022. Its declaration of full independence is clear. Therefore:
You cannot leave a structure you do not belong to.
Any UOC priest who naively writes such a letter places himself in canonical limbo, undermines ecclesial unity, and exposes fellow clergy to pressure – while gaining no real protection from the state. The only “way out” is betrayal: joining the OCU. And even then, safety is not guaranteed.
The UOC’s salvation lies only in unity with our Lord Jesus Christ – and with one another.
So if anyone is tempted to follow Yelensky, the “good cop,” they must think very carefully before stepping into this well-laid trap.
