INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Orthodox Church on Tuesday condemned a vote by Ukrainian lawmakers to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which many believe to be
aligned with Moscow."This is an unlawful act that is the grossest violation of the basic principles of freedom of conscience and human
religious organizations with links to Russia
That ban would include the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which lawmakers accuse of maintaining links with Moscow.Legoida said the bill creates
the majority of Ukrainians."Legoida warned that implementing the law would "lead to acts of mass violence against millions of believers."The
Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which officially broke ties with the Russian Orthodox Church in 2022, has been accused by some lawmakers of
maintaining covert connections with Russian clergy despite the ongoing war.In 2019, the Istanbul-based head of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Ukraine.Despite the schism, many parishes and worshippers continued to follow the church with suspected links to Moscow.Russian Orthodox
Church leader Patriarch Kirill said later on Tuesday described a "very difficult time when many have turned against us..
not because we are bad but only because we are different."
