Metropolitan Onufrii of Kyiv, the primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, has had his Ukrainian citizenship suspended by a presidential decree, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on July 2.
The SBU said it had established that Onufrii, also known by his secular name, Orest Berezovskyi, voluntarily received Russian citizenship in 2002 and failed to inform Ukrainian authorities of the fact. The new Ukrainian law on multiple citizenship lists holding a Russian passport as grounds for the removal of Ukrainian citizenship.
The security agency also said Onufrii has maintained ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and actively resisted Ukraine's efforts to secure ecclesiastical independence from Moscow and its leader, Patriarch Kirill.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) has faced growing scrutiny and public criticism in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with many officials accusing it of maintaining loyalty to Moscow and undermining Ukraine's sovereignty.
The Moscow-linked church is separate from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was granted autocephaly (autonomy) by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople in 2019.
"Despite the full-scale invasion, Berezovsky (Onufrii) continues to support the policies of the Russian Orthodox Church and its leadership, particularly Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev)," the SBU said in a statement.
Zelensky signed a law in 2024 banning the activities of religious organizations affiliated with Russia. The law was widely seen as targeting the UOC-MP, which remains legally subordinate to the Moscow-based ROC despite its claim to have severed ties.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, over 100 UOC-MP clergy members have come under criminal investigation for alleged collaboration with Russian forces or spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda, according to the SBU. Nearly 50 have been charged, and courts have issued verdicts in 26 cases.
The UOC-MP continues to insist that it operates within Ukrainian law and that its 2022 declaration of independence from Moscow was genuine, though many in Ukraine view it as purely symbolic and lacking credibility.
Danylo Mokryk
(Updated: )
