We invite you to a lecture (in English) by Dr. Sergei A. Mudrov entitled “Restructuring Church-State and Inter-Orthodox Relations: Ukraine’s Law 3894-IX and Its Impact on the Orthodox Church”, which will take place on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at 1:30 PM at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Jaracza 1, 5th floor), as well as online via the Zoom platform. The link is available through the secretariat: sekretariat@ispan.edu.pl.
The event will serve as a summary of Dr. Mudrov’s research project carried out at the Institute of Slavic Studies PAS, entitled “Church-State Relations in the Post-Communist World: the Cases of Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.”
The meeting will be led by Prof. Alena Rudenka.
Description:
On August 20, 2024, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) adopted Law No. 3894-IX, which laid the groundwork for the banning of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)—the largest religious denomination in Ukraine. This decision was the culmination of a series of steps taken by Ukrainian authorities following the victory of the Euromaidan in 2014. These steps included support for the transfer of UOC parishes to other Orthodox jurisdictions, the adoption of legislation aimed at renaming the UOC, and the exclusion of the Church from participation in the Armed Forces.
The marginalization of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church intensified significantly after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. The impact of the war can even be seen as a decisive factor in paving the way for the potential complete removal of the UOC’s structures from Ukraine’s religious landscape.
In this paper, I will examine the key factors that contributed to the Ukrainian authorities’ decision in August 2024. I will assess how the status of the UOC and public attitudes toward the Church have evolved over the past decade, following the Euromaidan revolution in 2014. This analysis will take into account the increasing dominance of nation-state policies in Ukraine, which have largely replaced alternative state-nation approaches. Additionally, I will analyze the content of Law No. 3894, paying particular attention to its vague provisions and the challenges posed by its ambiguous interpretations.
The project is funded by a grant from the European Commission (No. NDICI-GEO-NEAR_2022_434-092-0029).