Kyiv accuses Russian Orthodox bishop of aiding Kremlin occupation
Metropolitan Kirill (Leonid Pokrovsky) of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk investigated for spreading propaganda about "unity with Russia".
(Divine Diplomacy) — An influential Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has been served with a notice of suspicion by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for actively undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity by relying on religious propaganda activities and justifying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Metropolitan Kirill (Leonid Pokrovsky) of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk, who heads the ROC’s Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies, has been accused of facilitating the annexation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church dioceses and creating propagandistic networks in the temporarily occupied territories.
The pre-trial investigation by Ukrainian authorities alleges that the influential Metropolitan helped Russia “undermine the sovereignty of Ukraine, formed a distorted perception among believers about the causes and consequences of the war, and justified aggression under the guise of religious activity.”
“It has been established that Pokrovsky acted in collusion with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and other representatives of the ROC, facilitating the subordination of Ukrainian dioceses to Moscow,” the Prosecutor’s General Office of Ukraine reported on 20 October.
“In addition, he created a system of informational influence on believers in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, spreading messages about “unity with Russia” and justifying the occupation.”
According to the investigation, the Russian Metropolitan openly supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a video address which was uploaded in 2022 to the YouTube channel connected to the ROC. Separately, Metropolitan Kirill has been accused of further justifying and repeating the Kremlin’s narratives of the war in Ukraine in an interview he gave for RIA Novosti in 2023.
The Office of the Prosecutor General has concluded that this high-profile case demonstrates how religious rhetoric can be exploited and weaponised by Russia.
Military Chaplaincy
Amid growing concern over Russia’s manipulation of faith narratives, Ukraine has been seeking ways to restrict the operations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which authorities in Kyiv have officially confirmed operates under the command of the ROC. These restrictions extend to the military chaplaincy, from which UOC clergy have been barred.
Last week, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, convened military chaplains from several denominations, including the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, to discuss current challenges and future planning for the chaplaincy service.
“Chaplains take care of the spiritual resilience of soldiers, helping them maintain their faith,” Syrskyi emphasised as reported on his Telegram channel. “Many problems in units are resolved more easily when the commander and chaplain are in their places, able to listen to each soldier and answer the questions that concern them.”
During the meeting, the Commander-in-Chief was presented with a study on factors influencing soldiers’ spiritual resilience and a new doctrine on meeting their spiritual and religious needs.
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