Mykhailo Podolyak

Mykhailo Podolyak

Date of birth: March 16, 1973

Advisor to the Office of the President of Ukraine

Mykhailo Podolyak became the government official who publicly supported the persecution of Orthodox Christians in Ukraine.

It's worth noting that the official had long maintained a neutral stance and even called for an end to labeling the believers and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as enemies.

Podolyak's rhetoric has changed dramatically since the government announced its policy of destroying the Orthodox Church. The OP advisor not only publicly incited hatred against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church but also effectively called for reprisals against Christians.

On December 3, 2022, in an interview with the "We Are Ukraine" channel, Podolyak called the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church FSB agents who "hate us."

"Look at those individuals (UOC bishops – Ed.) who are under suspicion, who hold metropolitan status and work as FSB agents – let's call a spade a spade, there's no need to be afraid of this; it's a criminal offense. If you're agents and in contact with FSB handlers, then you're violating Ukrainian law. This isn't a question of faith, but of control. Moscow controls Ukraine through the UOC. Do we need that? No. We have our own local church (the OCU – Ed.)," Podolyak noted.

According to the official, the UOC bishops "utterly hate Ukraine," and therefore we need to "get rid of them."

Podolyak added that the UOC is not a Church, but a system of influence created by the Russian Federation to deprive Ukraine of religious independence.

[Видео/вставка]

On January 10, 2023, Podolyak, answering journalist Vasily Golovanov's question about the fate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, stated that the authorities were ending the era of dual church system.

In effect, he publicly confirmed the state's intrusion into Church affairs.

"We must learn to close the door. We didn't close the door to the Russian Federation in 1991, and we have what we have. There cannot be two identical Churches in Ukraine, especially since one of them has relations with an aggressor country. I think this is how it will play out: we will end the era of dual church system. We won't have two churches, but a single local Orthodox Church. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra will be Ukrainian in the full sense of the word," Podolyak asserted.

The adviser to the head of the OP also believes that the UOC should definitely be called the ROC, so that people who continue to attend it will understand that they are thereby supporting the army of the aggressor country.

[Видео/вставка]

On March 30, 2023, Podolyak stated on Channel 24 that "only the OCU will exist" in Ukraine.

The official distinguished himself with particularly dangerous hate rhetoric, hinting at extrajudicial reprisals and the moral legitimization of political and religious reprisals. He called the Church and Lavra an "abscess" that needs to be "surgically excised" and "cleansed."

"We will reach the right end. The UOC will lose all ability to influence Ukraine's internal affairs. The UOC will gradually move to Russian cities and do something else there. And in Ukraine, there will be the OCU, only the OCU," Podolyak stated.

He expressed his conviction that only the OCU should remain in the country, because the UOC is guilty of the war in Ukraine.

"And there must be, I emphasize again, a single, canonical Ukrainian Church in Ukraine." "By the way, Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople, constantly speaks of this, clearly stating that the Russian Orthodox Church (and therefore the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) are equally guilty of Russia's genocidal war against Ukraine," Podolyak said.

Commenting on the conflict around the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, he stated that "the UOC has once again shown its true colors." Podolyak added that "even during the war, what they said, especially at the beginning of the war, that 'we separated from the Russian Orthodox Church, we do not support the Russian Orthodox Church's calls to kill Ukrainians,' and so on, that all of this is fiction."

During the broadcast, Podolyak says that the UOC must be “physically cleansed,” and in response to the host’s remark about the international publicity of persecution against the Church, the politician replies: “I wouldn’t pay attention to all these resolutions regarding violations of believers’ rights in Ukraine.”

Podolyak: “And it seems to me that precisely today all of this, everything that is happening around the UOC, will finally allow this abscess to be closed, surgically closed. And we will do this in any case.”(7:10 – 7:32)

“They (the UOC) want the Ukrainian state not to regulate in any way what they are doing… And today we have a unique chance when it was possible to resolve things very quickly and without pain again, like in the first 3–6 months of the war, when many pro-Russian elements could be physically cleansed… Today it is a bit more difficult, but again, only a bit more difficult. That does not mean impossible. And today we must move along this path in a legally motivated but sufficiently tough manner.”(7:50 – 8:15)

Host Kateryna Soliar:“You see, but at the same time the UN does not see signs of genocide in Ukraine, yet it does see that there is very strong pressure. They say that you are oppressing the UOC–MP.”
(8:40 – 8:49)

Podolyak:“Let’s expand a bit on the UN, because this is truly a frightening story. Everything that the senior UN offices or human rights commissions are doing today. You understand the absurdity of what is happening in the world as a whole…”(8:50 – 9:00)

“I mean when we talk about the UN. And therefore I would not pay attention to all these resolutions regarding violations of believers’ rights in Ukraine. Because, and again I emphasize this, the democratic world, to which Ukraine belongs, clearly understands the fictitious nature of these reports.That is, these reports are not taken into account. They carry no consequences. It is clear that the only party violating human rights in Ukraine is the Russian Federation.
Everything Ukraine is doing is defending its own space, including the religious space, including by getting rid of the influence of the UOC. And I emphasize once again: the actions of the UOC yesterday on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra indicate that this is part of the ‘Russian world’ that wants to exert internal influence on the situation in Ukraine. And it is something that must be gotten rid of.” (11:34 – 12:23)

[Видео/вставка]