According to materials from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Orest Berezovskyy, better known as Onufriy, a figure in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. The relevant decree was signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This was reported by the SBU.
The SBU established that Berezovskyy (Onufriy) voluntarily obtained Russian citizenship in 2002. He did not inform the authorised Ukrainian authorities of this. At the same time, he continued to enjoy the status of a citizen of our state.
According to information available to the Security Service of Ukraine, Onufriy maintains ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and has deliberately opposed the canonical independence of the Ukrainian Church from the Moscow Patriarchate, whose representatives openly support Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Despite the full-scale invasion, Berezovskyy (Onufriy) continues to support the policies of the Russian Orthodox Church and its leadership, in particular Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev).
The SBU recalls that it was Gundyayev who blessed the armed aggression of Russian troops and is pursuing a propaganda policy of justification and incitement to genocide against the Ukrainian people. At the same time, by supporting the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, he contributes to the criminal activities of the political leadership of the aggressor country.
“The Security Service of Ukraine continues to take the necessary measures to protect the Ukrainian state and society from any aggressive actions by Russia.”
Despite the fact that the UOC-MP continues to deny that Onufriy (Berezovskyy) holds a Russian passport, sources at LB.ua have shown photographic evidence of the UOC metropolitan’s passport.
- Earlier, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate denied that Metropolitan Onufriy and other bishops of the Church held Russian passports. Later, Onufriy stated that he did not consider himself a citizen of Russia, although he admitted that he had Russian citizenship, which he allegedly renounced.
- In 2023, Ukrainian journalists published an investigation revealing that Metropolitan Onufriy and more than 20 other clergymen of the UOC-MP held Russian citizenship. For example, Onufriy received his passport in Moscow on 20 March 2002. A year later, he received a second foreign passport as a citizen of the Russian Federation.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended the Ukrainian citizenship of all of the aforementioned Russian citizens (with the exception of Metropolitan Onufriy of the UOC-MP).