Source: www.forum18.org
Date: October 13, 2023
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Felix Corley, Forum 18
Russian occupation forces have closed and seized more churches in occupied
parts of Ukraine. Among those forcibly closed in recent months are an
Orthodox Church of Ukraine church in Basan and a Baptist Union church in
occupied parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzia Region, and the Catholic Church in
Skadovsk in occupied parts of Ukraine's Kherson Region.
Russian occupation forces in the village of Basan in Zaporizhzhia Region
"discovered and halted the activity of an unregistered religious
association" of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the occupation forces
claimed to the Russian media in June (see below).
Occupation forces also filmed a video interview with parish priest Fr Serhi
Moskovets, possibly against his will, where he admitted that he had held
religious meetings without Russian permission and against Russian law, and
promised not to do so in future. Fr Serhi also stated that he had books
with allegedly anti-Russian content. He held up to the camera several
booklets, including "Why I want to be Orthodox but without the Moscow
Patriarchate" and "Teachers of lies under the mask of 'defenders of
Orthodoxy'" (see below).
Artyom Sharlay, the head of the Russian occupiers' Religious Organisations
Department at Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration's Social and Political
Communications and Information Policy Department, told Forum 18 that he
could not say if the parish would meet for worship again. "The Orthodox
Church of Ukraine is pro-Western and this is bad," Sharlay added. "It has
links with Ukrainian special services, which it shouldn't have. Western
countries want there to be as many casualties as possible in Ukraine," he
claimed without producing any evidence (see below).
Sharlay insisted that only "law-abiding" religious communities are allowed
to exist in the parts of the Ukrainian region the occupiers control. "Those
which are law-abiding – like Adventists and Baptists – face no
restrictions, but those that break the law are banned," Sharlay claimed to
Forum 18. "Some stored weapons, explosives and radio equipment in their
places of worship or were financed from the United States," he claimed –
yet again without producing any evidence (see below).
Despite Sharlay's claims, Russian occupation forces have closed and seized
Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist and other churches in occupied Zaporizhzia
Region (see below).
Sharlay insisted (also without producing evidence) that the two priests
Russia's National Guard "disappeared" in Berdyansk in November 2022 - Fr
Ivan Levytsky and Fr Bohdan Heleta - stored weapons in their church. There
is no information about where the priests are, their state of health – or
if they are still alive. Sharlay claimed to Forum 18 that the two priests
will face trial "as soon as new courts are established here" (see
forthcoming F18News article).
Russian occupation forces in Zaporizhzhia Region seized another church of
the Baptist Union in September, bringing to seven the number confiscated in
territory they have captured since the full scale invasion of Ukraine from
February 2022. Sharlay did not explain to Forum 18 why occupation forces
seized the church (see below).
On 22 August, Russian occupation forces searched the Catholic Church of St
Therese of the Child Jesus in Skadovsk in Ukraine's Kherson Region. The
occupiers broke the Church's windows and door, claiming that they were
allegedly looking for explosives and drugs. Parishioners used to gather in
the church for prayer, but Russian officials have now banned this (see
below).
Kherson Region's Russian occupation police have not replied to Forum 18's
questions about why armed police raided and searched the Catholic Church,
breaking its door and windows, and why Catholics have been banned from
meeting for worship in the church (see below).
In the first known case in parts of Ukraine Russia illegally invaded and
claimed to have annexed in 2022, Fr Feognost (Timofei Pushkov) is facing
prosecution under Russia's Administrative Code Article 20.3.3, Part 1
("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation"). However, after a hearing on 30 May 2023 the case was
returned to police for further work and as of 13 October has not returned
to court (see below).
In addition to closing and seizing places of worship and interrogating
religious leaders, Russian occupation forces have seized religious leaders
of a variety of faiths. Some have been tortured in Russian custody. These
include Imam Rustem Asanov
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
the Birlik (Unity) Mosque in the village of Shchastlivtseve in Henichesk
District in Ukraine's Kherson Region. Some leaders were released after
days, weeks or even months in Russian custody, such as Leonid Ponomaryov,
Pastor of a Baptist Council of Churches congregation in the city, and his
wife Tatyana who were held from 21 September to 21 October 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
At least three religious leaders are currently "disappeared": Greek
Catholic priests, Fr Ivan Levytsky and Fr Bohdan Heleta; and Fr Kostiantyn
Maksimov, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Two other Orthodox
priests were fined and ordered "deported" (see forthcoming F18News
article).
On 1 October, the state-owned Russia-1 television channel in Moscow
broadcast a 10-minute film from occupied parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
Region. The film attacked the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Protestants,
Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses and repeated many of the disinformation
messages used by Russian official commentators and state media. Sharlay of
the Russian occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations Department, who
took part in the film, insisted to Forum 18 on 12 October that all the
accusations against the religious communities are true (see below).
Freedom of religion and belief is with other human rights severely
restricted within all Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine (see below).
Zaporizhzhia Region: Russian occupiers forcibly close Orthodox Church of
Ukraine parish
Russian occupation forces in the village of Basan in Zaporizhzhia Region
"discovered and halted the activity of an unregistered religious
association" of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the occupation forces
claimed to the Russian media, including the Tass and RIA Novosti news
agencies, on 7 June. The parish was led by Fr Serhi Moskovets.
Russian occupation forces searched the premises where Fr Serhi and
parishioners met for worship. "Operational personnel discovered
anti-Russian literature, including that directed at discrediting the
Russian Orthodox Church," the occupation forces claimed to the Russian
media. The occupiers also claimed to have discovered a Ukrainian uniform
from the time when Fr Serhi served as a chaplain in the Ukrainian army.
Russian occupation forces filmed a video interview with Fr Serhi, possibly
against his will, where he admitted that he had held religious meetings
without Russian permission and against Russian law, and promised not to do
so in future. Fr Serhi also stated that he had books with allegedly
anti-Russian content. He held up to the camera several booklets, including
"Why I want to be Orthodox but without the Moscow Patriarchate" and
"Teachers of lies under the mask of 'defenders of Orthodoxy'."
Artyom Sharlay, the head of the Russian occupiers' Religious Organisations
Department at Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration's Social and Political
Communications and Information Policy Department, told Forum 18 that he had
been given no information about Fr Serhi and his parish.
Sharlay told Forum 18 he could not say if the parish would meet for worship
again. "Officially there is no ban on the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. But
maybe among its priests and parishioners there are extremists," he told
Forum 18 from Melitopol on 12 October.
"The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is pro-Western and this is bad," Sharlay
added. "It has links with Ukrainian special services, which it shouldn't
have. Western countries want there to be as many casualties as possible in
Ukraine," he claimed without producing any evidence. "Other Orthodox Church
of Ukraine priests," he claimed "left voluntarily."
Zaporizhzhia Region: Only "law-abiding" religious communities allowed to
exist
Sharlay of the Russian occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations
Department insisted that only "law-abiding" religious communities are
allowed to exist in the parts of the Ukrainian region the occupiers
control.
"Those which are law-abiding – like Adventists and Baptists – face no
restrictions, but those that break the law are banned," Sharlay claimed to
Forum 18. "Some stored weapons, explosives and radio equipment in their
places of worship or were financed from the United States," he claimed –
yet again without producing any evidence.
Adventist, Baptist and other churches in Sharlay's occupied Zaporizhzia
Region have been closed and seized by the Russian occupation forces
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
occupation forces seized Melitopol's Grace Baptist in September 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
during a Sunday meeting for worship. Occupation forces have removed the
cross from the top of the building, repainted the front brown, and posted
four portraits of Russian soldiers high up on the facade of the building.
The building is now used by the occupation forces as an administrative
centre. The Russian Melitopol City Administration would not answer Forum
18's questions about why Russian forces have closed and confiscated places
of worship in the city.
Sharlay of the Russian occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations
Department identified communities he objected to, including Word of Life
and Grace Protestant Churches
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
disturbances in March 2022," he claimed on 12 October 2023, referring to
the time immediately after Russia's invasion of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
Region.
Sharlay was especially critical of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
"This has never been traditional in this area," he claimed, also claiming
it "represents an expansion of Western culture," he told Forum 18. Sharlay
did not explain why these claims justified human rights violations.
Sharlay insisted (also without producing evidence) that the two priests
Russia's National Guard "disappeared" in Berdyansk in November 2022 - Fr
Ivan Levytsky and Fr Bohdan Heleta - stored weapons in their church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
information about where the priests are, their state of health – or if
they are still alive. Sharlay claimed to Forum 18 that the two priests will
face trial "as soon as new courts are established here" (see forthcoming
F18News article).
When in May 2023 Forum 18 asked the Russian Berdyansk Police where the
priests are, they replied
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Ask [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky's special services – they're
responsible." The occupation police officer refused to give any evidence
for this claim and put the phone down.
Zaporizhzhia Region: Seventh Baptist Union church building seized
Russian occupation forces seized another church of the Baptist Union in
September, this time in Zaporizhzia Region. Ukraine's Baptist Union
confirmed the latest seizure in to Forum 18 on 12 October. This brings to
seven the number of churches confiscated in territory Russian forces have
captured since the full scale invasion of Ukraine from February 2022.
The other six Baptist Union churches previously seized are located in parts
of Donetsk Region captured since the renewed Russian invasion.
The occupation authorities claimed that a mine had allegedly been planted
in the seized Zaporizhzia Region church, Voice of the Martyrs Korea noted
on 26 September. Officials banned the church from holding further meetings
for worship in the building, but permitted church members to enter it to
retrieve their communion supplies. "We are praying for those who have moved
into the House of Prayer," Voice of the Martyrs Korea quoted the pastor as
declaring.
"At the moment, the military has occupied the House of Prayer and are
living there," the pastor of another Baptist church seized earlier told
Voice of the Martyrs Korea. "The reason is explained by the fact that the
higher authorities did not allow the worship service to be held [in the
building]."
Sharlay of the Russian occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations
Department did not explain to Forum 18 why the occupation forces had seized
the Baptist church.
Kherson Region: Catholic church raided, closed in "anti-terrorist
operation"
On 22 August, Russian occupation forces searched the Roman Catholic Church
of St Therese of the Child Jesus in the coastal town of Skadovsk in
Ukraine's Kherson Region. The area has been occupied since March 2022. The
occupiers broke the Church's windows and door, claiming that they were
allegedly looking for explosives and drugs. Parish priest Fr Dominik Fiszer
is now in his native Poland.
"A group of armed special forces with masked weapons surrounded the Roman
Catholic chapel, broke down the door and broke into the chapel and began a
search. Parishioners were informed that it was a special operation against
terrorists," Bishop Stanislav Shirokoradiuk of the Odessa-Simferopol
Diocese said in a 23 August 2023 statement.
"They were looking for terrorists. Fortunately, there were no people in the
church, because everyone would have been captured by now. The search
continued until the evening. The occupiers said that the Catholic priest
who served here before was a drug lord. For some reason, the windows in the
temple were broken."
Parishioners used to gather in the church for prayer, but Russian officials
have now banned this. "No one has the right to enter there," Bishop
Shirokoradiuk said. "Because there are supposed to be terrorists there. I
am sure that they will find explosives there, and they will find weapons,
and they will find everything they want."
Forum 18 asked the Press Service of Kherson Region's Russian occupation
police in writing on 11 October why armed police had raided and searched
Skadovsk's Catholic church, breaking its door and windows. Forum 18 also
asked why Catholics have been banned from meeting for worship in the
church. Forum 18 had received no response by the middle of the working day
in Kherson Region of 13 October.
Luhansk Region: "Discreditation" case on hold?
In the first known case in parts of Ukraine Russia illegally invaded and
claimed to have annexed in 2022, Fr Feognost (Timofei Pushkov) is facing
prosecution under Russia's Administrative Code Article 20.3.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation").
Following Russia's renewed invasion of Ukraine from February 2022, Russian
President Vladimir Putin signed into law on 4 April 2022 new punishments
for criticising Russia's actions in its war against Ukraine. Since 2022,
Russia has in Crimea (https://www.forum18.org/archi
- which it illegally claims to have annexed in 2014 - imposed more than 100
punishments under Russian Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 for
"discreditation" of Russia's armed forces.
The four other occupied or partially-occupied regions of Ukraine
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Donetsk and Luhansk (where Fr Feognost is facing prosecution), which Russia
illegally claimed to have annexed in 2022
(https://news.un.org/en/story/
punishments under Russia's Criminal and Administrative Codes in late 2022
in courts which Russia controls. As the territories are occupied, this is
illegal under international law
(https://ihl-databases.icrc.or
as Russia is required to leave Ukrainian law in force.
The 43-year-old Fr Feognost is a priest of the Luhansk Diocese of the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate. He
serves at the parish of St Nikolai in the village of Kuryachivka in Marivka
District of Ukraine's Luhansk Region, 25 kms (15 miles) from the border
with Russia.
In Russia with its internationally-recognised boundaries, Moscow
Patriarchate priests have come under pressure from both the Patriarchate
and the government (https://www.forum18.org/archi
support the war, and have been punished if they oppose it.
Fr Feognost is being prosecuted for a video he posted
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
2022 discussing how his views on patriotism based on Christian principles
differed from those of three other Orthodox priests. He says the Russian
Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow alerted the FSB in
Russian-occupied Luhansk
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"psycholinguistic expert analysis" from an employee of a university in
Luhansk. The "expert examination" was "carried out according to the most
loyal of formulas" (https://www.forum18.org/archi
and found that he "discredited, worked for the enemy."
The Russian Markivka District Prosecutor then handed a case against Fr
Feognost to the police
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Markivka District Police chief Lieutenant-Colonel Aleksandr Mulyar handed
the case to court.
Judge Roman Shulga of Markivka District Court was due to hear the case on
30 May. However, before the hearing took place the FSB took Fr Feognost's
case file from the court. Officers returned it on 26 May, demanding that
the occupation police conduct "further work" on the case, Fr Feognost noted
on his Telegram channel on 1 June. No hearing therefore took place on 30
May.
"They again told the cops: It turns out that there is a psycholinguistic
study, but there is no expert analysis of the same name, and the latter is
not done in the LPR [Luhansk People's Republic], but only in the Russian
Federation," Fr Feognost noted. He added that the case had brought him
great stress. "My nerves are terribly tense."
The duty officer refused to put Forum 18 through in May to
Lieutenant-Colonel Aleksandr Mulyar, head of the Russian-controlled
Markivka District Police, who prepared the record of an offence against Fr
Feognost.
As of 13 October, the case does not appear to have been returned to court.
Russian state television attacks religious communities in occupied Ukraine
On 1 October, the state-owned Russia-1 television channel in Moscow
broadcast a 10-minute film from occupied parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia
Region. The film attacked the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Protestants,
Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses and repeated some of the many
disinformation messages (https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ukrain
used by Russian official commentators and state media.
Russian occupation forces often broadcast disinformation about religious
believers and communities in occupied Ukraine which do not support the
renewed invasion. In one example, on 20 April the pro-Russian
Berdyansk.Aktualno Telegram channel published a film making unsubstantiated
claims about the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
In the 1 October 10 minute Russia-1 TV film, Yelena Yerofeyeva claimed that
"in Berdyansk alone there were 36 odious sects", while in Melitopol there
were "even more". She claimed that two churches of Berdyansk Orthodox
diocese, which "voluntarily went under the control of schismatics", are now
empty after their priests allegedly fled to government-controlled Ukraine.
Berdyansk's Catholic priest "fled abroad", Yerofeyeva falsely claimed. (In
reality, Fr Mateusz Godek told Forum 18 that he was not in the city at the
time of the February 2022 Russian invasion
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
able to return to Berdyansk because of the invasion.) "For eight years in
this Catholic church they educated Nazis," Yerofeyeva also claimed without
any evidence. "Here was the base for the Azov regiment."
The Russian occupier's media has made other unsubstantiated claims about
Berdyansk's Catholic Church
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
also stated that the city's Latin-rite Catholic priest was close to the
city's two Greek Catholic priests, Fr Ivan Levytsky and Fr Bohdan Heleta,
who were in November 2022 "disappeared" by the Russian occupation forces
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
information about where they are, their state of health – or if they are
still alive (see forthcoming F18News article).
When in May 2023 Forum 18 asked the Russian Berdyansk Police where the
priests are, they replied
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Ask [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky's special services – they're
responsible." The occupation police officer refused to give any evidence
for this claim and put the phone down.
Immediately after the Russia-1 film showed footage of Berdyansk's Catholic
Church, Moscow Patriarchate Bishop Luka (Volchkov), administrator of
Berdyansk's Moscow Patriarchate Orthodox Diocese claimed to Yerofeyeva:
"They created there an entire Hitler Jugend." Luka produced no evidence for
his claim.
Also in the Russia-1 TV channel broadcast, Sharlay of the Russian
occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations Department criticised many
of the local Protestant communities. He claimed without producing evidence
that one of their leaders in Melitopol, who had American citizenship, "was
here on [an intelligence] mission".
Sharlay also claimed that in sharing their faith among the population,
Jehovah's Witnesses were looking for people to recruit. "We have
information that they conducted a certain intelligence activity," he
claimed without producing evidence.
"In leaving Vosnesenky, Jehovah's Witnesses not only turned off the lights:
they burned the entire building where they held meetings so that the
Russians wouldn't get hold of it," Yerofeyeva of Russia-1 claimed.
Sharlay of the Russian occupiers' Zaporizhzia Religious Organisations
Department defended Yerofeyeva's claims and his contribution to her 10
minute film. He insisted to Forum 18 on 12 October that all the accusations
against the religious communities she mentioned are true.
The switchboard at Russia-1 TV in Moscow refused on 12 October to put Forum
18 through to Yerofeyeva.
In 2018, Estonia banned Yerofeyeva and another Russia-1 TV journalist from
entering the Schengen Area for five years "for ridiculing Jehovah's
Witnesses as a religious group and inciting hatred towards them". The two
Russia-1 employees used hidden cameras and concealed the real purpose of
their visit. The Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO) noted in its
Annual Review 2018
(https://kapo.ee/sites/default
that Yerofeyeva and her colleague's actions "have the characteristics of
religious discrimination against persons, which in turn may develop into
incitement of hatred as defined in Section 151 of the Estonian Penal Code".
Freedom of religion or belief repression in occupied territories
Pro-Russian rebels occupied parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk Regions
in April 2014 and proclaimed what they called the Donetsk People's Republic
(DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Heavy fighting ensued. Until
the February 2022 renewed Russian invasion of Ukraine, the
Russian-controlled rebel administrations controlled about half of Ukraine's
Donetsk and Luhansk Regions. Russia illegally annexed the DPR and LPR as
Russian federal subjects on 5 October 2022, retaining the DPR and LPR
names.
Freedom of religion and belief is with other human rights also severely
restricted within the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, which Russia illegally
occupied and annexed
(https://www.nhc.no/en/qa-brea
in 2014. Freedom of religion and belief violations in Russian-occupied
Crimea (https://www.forum18.org/archi
forced imposition of Russian laws and restrictions on exercising human
rights, including freedom of religion or belief; jailing Muslim and
Jehovah's Witness Crimean prisoners of conscience; forcible closure of
places of worship; and fining people for leading meetings for worship
without Russian state permission.
Since 2014, the internationally unrecognised authorities of the Luhansk
People's Republic (https://www.forum18.org/archi
the Donetsk People's Republic
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
restrictions on all exercise of the right to freedom of religion or belief,
and other human rights.
Following Russia's renewed 2022 invasion of Ukraine, restrictions on the
exercise of the right to freedom of religion or belief and other human
rights were extended to the newly-occupied parts of the Luhansk People's
Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as well as other
Ukrainian territory Russia has occupied. On 19 October Russia imposed
martial law
(https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrai
parts of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and
Zaporizhzhia which it has illegally occupied and annexed.
Since the illegal imposition of Russian law on occupied Ukrainian territory
in October 2022 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Russian officials insist that religious communities must register under
Russian law to continue to be allowed to exist.
Russia's tax authorities have registered four religious communities in the
occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Region, the Russian Orthodox Berdyansk
Diocese, two other Russian Orthodox parishes and a Protestant church.
Russia's tax authorities have registered just one religious community in
the occupied part of Kherson Region, a Pentecostal Church in Henichesk.
Russia's tax authorities have registered 206 religious communities in the
occupied part of Ukraine's Donetsk Region
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
across from the DPR registration list. Russia's tax authorities have
registered 202 religious communities in the occupied part of Ukraine's
Luhansk Region (https://www.forum18.org/archi
almost all of them copied across from the LPR registration list.
Forum 18 asked Oleg Pomnikov of the Religious and Ethnic Affairs Department
of the LPR Culture, Sport and Youth Ministry in February why no Baptist,
Pentecostal, Seventh-day Adventist, Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Kyiv
Patriarchate or Jehovah's Witness communities have been allowed to register
in Luhansk Region. He claimed that the absence of such registered
communities (https://www.forum18.org/archi
the local population". (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Occupied
Ukraine
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Follow us on Twitter @Forum_18 (https://twitter.com/forum_18)
Follow us on Facebook @Forum18NewsService
(https://www.facebook.com/Foru
Follow us on Telegram @Forum18NewsService
(https://t.me/s/forum18newsser
All Forum 18 text may be referred to, quoted from, or republished in full,
if Forum 18 is credited as the source.
All photographs that are not Forum 18's copyright are attributed to the
copyright owner. If you reuse any photographs from Forum 18's website, you
must seek permission for any reuse from the copyright owner or abide by the
copyright terms the copyright owner has chosen.
© Forum 18 News Service. All rights reserved. ISSN 1504-2855.