This message is spread by pro-Russian users of social networks, including the Georgian segment of Facebook. The publications say that after the sanctioning of the churches of the Moscow patriarchate in Ukraine, Ukrainians began to behave not like real Christians, and their level of spirituality, according to the authors of the message, is low. Like, Ukrainians denigrate canonical Orthodoxy. As proof, Facebook users attach a series of video clips to the message, in which, allegedly, “goodness knows” happens in Ukrainian churches, and this contradicts all Christian canons.

Fact-checkers of the MythDetector project explained that people began to massively distribute video clips from the Russian-language segment of TikTok on Facebook. In fact, the video shows a regular Vertep (Nativity scene) performing one of the scenes adapted to real life. In the video, one can see the likeness of Putin, devils and death. From the dialogue of the parties it is clear that Putin is equated with Herod - a very cruel, ferocious person. Actually, Herod is the main antagonist of the Nativity scene, because he dreams of killing the newborn Jesus. In a new interpretation, he wants to create a “Russian world” and defeat Ukraine, but death kills Putin. Death in the classical Nativity scene appears as the protagonist of Herod. The rest of the performance is not visible in the circulated video.

Fact-checkers add that the theatrical scene took place in Greek Catholic churches, and not in the churches of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. One of the videos was filmed in Zarvanytsia, Ternopil region, in the Cathedral of the Mother of God of Zarvanytsia, and the other was made in Truskavets, in the Church of the Intercession of the Holy Theotokos. However, this does not change the essence of the fact that the Nativity scene is a tradition of the Ukrainian church and, despite the denomination, we celebrate the only Christmas.

This message is beneficial to Russian propaganda in order to discredit Ukrainians, to show that their values are unworthy. Earlier, Detector Media debunked a number of fakes about allegedly incorrect Orthodoxy in Ukraine, including that paganism is being spread in Ukraine.

Such a message is being shared by propagandists on social networks and telegram channels broadcasting pro-Kremlin rhetoric. It says that Ukraine wants to destroy Orthodoxy and at the same time promote paganism, because supposedly there are no real shrines left on the territory of Ukraine after the sanctioning of the Moscow Patriarchate church. That is why, according to propagandists, there is reason to believe that the process of abandoning the Moscow Patriarchate is aimed at replacing canonical Orthodoxy with “neopaganism”.

However, as analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project explain, the Ukrainian authorities neither plan to ban Orthodoxy, nor promote “neopaganism”. Parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate can freely transfer to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which received the tomos of autocephaly in January 2019. In addition, 78% of Orthodox believers declare their allegiance to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

By spreading this message, propagandists are trying to downplay the significance of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine for Ukrainians, presenting it as schismatic, separated from the real, canonical one. In contrast, propagandists do not stop positioning the Moscow Patriarchate as the only possible way to practice Orthodoxy. Thus, the enemies want to ideologically unite Ukrainians and Russians in order to promote the narrative of one people. At the same time, those who do not recognize the Moscow Patriarchate are sinners and schismatics.

Such a message is spread by pro-Russian telegram channels. The messages include a video with the participation of the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Pavlo, in which he calls Patriarch Filaret a “schismatic”, and the head of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifanii, a “self saint”. He also says that the Uspenskyi (Holy Assumption) cathedral was given to the OCU for holding a festive service. As if people from all over Ukraine would be “specially” brought there and paid for participation in the liturgy.

For these statements criminal proceedings were opened against Pavlo, the Metropolitan of the church of the Moscow patriarchate, on the fact of inciting religious hatred. This was announced by People's deputy Yaroslav Yurchyshyn.

In January 2019, ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew signed the Tomos on the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian church was officially established on January 30, 2019. The Church of the Moscow patriarchate has not yet recognized the creation of the OCU.

In January 2023, Metropolitan Epifanii held a festive Christmas service for the first time at the Uspenskyi (Holy Assumption) cathedral. After that, Russian propaganda spread messages that only militants and the press were present at the liturgy.

After the Security service of Ukraine (SBU) opened a case about the glorification of the “Russian world” in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Russian propaganda began to spread messages in defense of the Moscow patriarchate church. In particular, they said that Ukraine is “destroying” the largest religious denomination. They also wrote that Ukraine is on the verge of the largest interdenominational conflict in Europe.

Such messages are continued to be spread by Russian propaganda through pro-Russian resources. They say that in Ukraine there is a “catastrophic” situation with the church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Moreover, Russia initiated the convening of the UN Security Council allegedly because of the “harassment” of the Moscow Patriarchate Church, which it calls “the only canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine”.

At the same time, even before the beginning of the Security Council, the Moscow Patriarchate Church denied the request for help in protecting their rights. They say that they did not appeal to any state, especially to the one that carried out an armed attack on Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is systematically spreading messages that Ukraine is “destroying” the greatest religious denomination. Despite the fact that according to the results of the KMIS sociological survey, 72% of Ukrainians consider themselves Orthodox, and 54% identify themselves with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The propagandists also used reports of an attack on a priest in a church to promote the message and claimed that a church was set on fire in Volyn, the rector of which refused to go to the OCU.

Ukraine is a secular state that guarantees its citizens the freedom of worldview and religion. Russia is trying to use religion as a weapon against Ukrainians.

Social networks and anonymous pro-Russian telegram channels spread information that Ukrainians will allegedly canonize US President Joe Biden as a saint. Like, he made a huge contribution to the development of the state and helps in the fight against the aggressor. The authors of such messages add a screenshot, which depicts an alleged petition on the change.org website with a corresponding request to Epifanii, Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine. However, this is not true.

First, there is no such petition on change.org. Consequently, the propagandists created a pseudo-petition with the help of a graphical editor. Secondly, this statement is baseless since the Orthodox Church of Ukraine cannot list the President of the United States as a saint. To do this, at a minimum, Biden needs to profess Orthodoxy.

Russian media and pro-Russian telegrams are spreading videos of church fires. Allegedly, a fire occurred in the Holy Ascension church in the village of Ovadne, Volodymyr district, Volyn region. They say that the church was set on fire, because in Ukraine there is a “struggle against Orthodoxy”, and the priest “refused to leave the Moscow Patriarchate”. It is not true.

Information about the fire was denied by both rescuers and local authorities. The fire was not registered in the regional department of the State emergency service. According to the head of the Ovadne community, Serhii Panasevych, the video does not show their church.

Fact-checkers of the “Brekhunets” (Lier) project found out that this is a video of a fire in the church of St. Theodosius of Chernihiv in the village of Novooleksandrivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which occurred on January 19, 2021.

Russian propaganda systematically spreads messages about “harassment” and “discrimination” against the Moscow Patriarchate Church in Ukraine. Previously, reports of an attack on a priest in a temple were used to nourish this message. They also wrote that the transfer of churches from the Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is “a struggle for influence on the minds of people”; allegedly Ukraine is “destroying” the greatest religious denomination; and that allegedly Ukraine needs to be “desatanized” and “deshaitanized”.

Such a message is distributed through social networks and hostile telegram channels. It says that the liturgy was held in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra only with the participation of the military and the press. They say that other people did not want to participate in the liturgy, because they recognize only the Ukrainian church of Moscow Patriarchate. However, this is a lie.

As StopFake experts say, a number of media covering this historic event noted that the Christmas service gathered a huge number of believers. Various photos and videos of the Christmas liturgy show that there are not only journalists and military personnel in the church, but also just believers. The festive liturgy at the Lavra was also broadcast by national TV channels. On the broadcast, one could see who was in the temple during the service.

Propagandists spread this fake to convince everyone that the UOC is not popular among the Ukrainian population and that such a church is considered schismatic. That is, one that has separated from the real, canonical one.

Pro-Russian telegram channels are spreading the news about the attack on the priest of the Moscow Patriarchate Church in the Vinnytsia region and accusing the “politics” of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the “tacit consent” of Ukrainian society with it.

Russian propaganda is using reports of an attack on Archpriest Antonii Kovtoniuk to promote a disinformation message about the “persecution” of the Moscow Patriarchate church in Ukraine. There is no official information about the motives of the attacker yet - an investigation is underway. Propagandists are trying to give greater significance and “systematicity" to a single crime, so they write about “attacks in temples”.

Such information appeared in the Russian-language media space. In particular, messages are distributed in anonymous telegram channels broadcasting a pro-Russian position. They say that a new group of radical Islamists went from northeast Syria to Ukraine to fight as mercenaries on the side of Kyiv. However, there is no evidence in the propagandists' reports to support such a claim. Analysts of the EU vs Disinfo project drew attention to the case.

Anonymous telegram channels write that all the finds of the Security service in Ukraine (SSU) allegedly have unambiguous signs of "staging". Like, it remains only to "find the cartridges". It seems that in fact all this is not a “cleansing” of pro-Russian elements and ideology, but a “struggle for influence on the minds of people”. Also, the alleged goal of the Ukrainian authorities is the redistribution of church property and an attempt to “lock up” all donations to the OCU (Orthodox Church in Ukraine).

Thus, propagandists are trying to shift the emphasis on protecting national sovereignty to the corruption of the Ukrainian authorities. In fact, using the phrase about “the struggle for influence on people’s minds”, the propaganda indirectly confirms that the Moscow Patriarchate Church influenced the parishioners. Russians use aggressive rhetoric to defend the Moscow Patriarchate church after searches.

They say that those people who were baptized in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate will now be forced to "re-baptize by a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)".

Like, in the churches they put up the appropriate announcements: “In connection with the recent events, all baptismal rites performed by the priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are being abolished. You can sign up for re-baptism at the priest’s of the OCU”.

Such "announcements" circulating on the net are fake and their content is not true. This was reported to StopFake journalists by the press service of the OCU.

Such practice of rebaptism in the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not approved and is not carried out. Since this is a big theological misconception, a violation of the canons and a serious sin”, the press service of the OCU said.

Re-baptism used to be practiced in the UOC-MP itself in relation to the believers of the Orthodox Churches of Ukraine (OCU), which are considered “schismatic” in the Moscow Patriarchate.

Pro-Russian telegram channels write about this in the context of checks and searches taking place in the churches of the Moscow Patriarchate. Like, the authorities are proposing a special law to ban the Moscow Patriarchate church, but for the sake of “decency” this is not indicated in the title. Allegedly, they found a way to “squeeze out” the Kyiv-Pechersk, Pochayiv and Sviatohorsk Lavra. They will also detain clergy and parishioners to replenish the exchange fund.

In fact, the reason for searches was a video filmed in the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where during the divine service on November 12 they glorified Russia. The Security service of Ukraine (SBU) opened criminal proceedings on the fact of "acquittal, recognition of lawfulness, denial of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its participants". During the searches, law enforcement officers found pro-Russian literature, leaflets and other evidence. The investigation continues.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi indeed announced the preparation of a bill on the impossibility of operating religious organizations affiliated with Russia in Ukraine. However, this name indicates that Ukraine is protecting itself from the pro-Russian influence of any religious organization, and is not biased towards the Moscow Patriarchate Church.

У такий спосіб агітпроп використовує тактику підміни понять — приховує антиукраїнську риторику церкви Московського патріархату за звинуваченнями української влади у дискримінації за релігійною ознакою.

The Russian media are massively spreading information that Congressman Jamie Raskin allegedly called for the destruction of Russia because it is an Orthodox country with traditional values. And this is fake. Although it was not the Russian media that came up with it, but the American ones.

The fact that Raskin calls for a religious war against Russia, Orthodoxy and its traditional values, was said on the air of the FoxNews channel by host Tucker Carlson. And it was he who lied, since he is known for his commitment to Russia and has repeatedly disseminated manipulative theses. Here is the full text of Raskin's statement, but in short it sounds like this: Russia is the world center of corruption, totalitarianism, anti-feminism and violations of LGBT rights. At the same time, Ukraine is a democratic country that upholds the ideas of tolerance, human rights and freedoms. Therefore, it is clear to anyone, Democrat or Republican, why America should support Ukraine and do everything so that Russia loses this war.

They came up with a new goal for the so-called "special operation" in Russia. The "Kyiv regime" allegedly turned Ukraine into a "totalitarian hypersect" that professes "neo-paganism" as the basis of "radical nationalism." The assistant secretary of the Russian Security Council of the UN, Oleksiy Pavlov, also believes that the number of "satanic sects" in Ukraine is unknown. Still, the count "definitely runs into the hundreds." Instead, Ramzan Kadyrov announced the goal of "de-shaitanizing" Ukraine. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, every citizen of Ukraine has the right to freedom of worldview and religion. Ukrainians can practice any religion or not, participate freely in religious cults and ritual rites, and conduct religious activities. This right is limited by law only if religious beliefs affect the protection of the population's public order, health, and morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of other people. The church and religious organizations in Ukraine are separated from the state. Therefore, the Ukrainian authorities cannot influence the religious views of Ukrainians in any way.

According to the network of religious organizations report, as of January 1, 2021, several pagan currents were registered in Ukraine. These are 161 organizations, only 0.4% of the total number of religious organizations. Some researchers of religious currents consider Satanists to be a religious group of neo-pagan native believers, but it is only one of the scientific approaches. Primarily paganism and neo-paganism in Ukraine are associated with the return of people to ancient Slavic beliefs, which existed even in the days of Kyivan Rus and had nothing to do with the cult of Satan. Moreover, pagans considered themselves a light cult and were forbidden to perform dark rituals. Oleksiy Pavlov's references to religious beliefs, totalitarianism, and radical nationalism are an unsuccessful attempt to equate Ukraine with Nazi Germany.

Anonymous telegram channels and Russian media write about this. Allegedly, the Investigative Committee of Russia will open criminal proceedings on the arrest of teachers in the Kharkov region. The fake got into the Ukrainian information space because of the pro-Russian media and bloggers. They allegedly referred to a comment by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk that the detainees would be tried under Article 483 of the Criminal Code (violation of the customs and laws of war). Like, the punishment for them provides for up to 12 years in prison and they are not subject to exchange, because they are not prisoners of war. Some telegram channels also hinted that not all teachers would live to see the trial. It is not true.

As journalist Iryna Romaliiska reported with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ukrainian police did not detain Russian teachers in the de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region. Information about the detention was not confirmed in the office of the President of Ukraine. Subsequently, the Russian authorities denied the information about the detention of Russian teachers in Ukraine.

Most likely, this news was deliberately spread by pro-Russian resources in order to demonstrate the “ruthlessness” of the Ukrainian authorities, and subsequently its “absurdity”. This fake also echoes the Russian propaganda narrative about “Ukrainian Nazis.” Previously, fakes were spread that schoolchildren in the temporarily occupied part of the Kharkiv region were choosing Russian as the language of the studies process.