The Christian Council of Sweden, which brings together the country’s Christian churches, has suspended the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in its work.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Sweden Svitlana Zalishchuk announced the move.

She noted that the decision was made in September and has now taken effect.

The council said the step was necessary to ensure that the organisation could continue to serve as an independent and principled voice for Sweden’s Christian churches.

The decision also took into account a warning from the Swedish Security Service, SÄPO. In late 2023, the agency said that the Russian state was using structures of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden for activities that could pose a threat to the country’s national security.

“Ukraine knows very well how the Kremlin uses religious structures not only to spread propaganda and the ideology of the ‘Russian world,’ but also as an instrument of state influence. That is why it is important to call things by their proper names. Religious freedom must be protected. But religion cannot serve as a cover for the political influence of a state waging a war of aggression,” Svitlana Zalishchuk stressed.

We previously reported that a dispute had erupted in the Swedish city of Västerås over an Orthodox church belonging to the Moscow Patriarchate. Municipal authorities regard the church as a potential threat to national security and have initiated proceedings for its compulsory acquisition.

As LF reported, the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden began showing interest in building a church in the area in 2012. Despite the fact that Västerås has a population of 160,000 while the Russian Orthodox congregation numbers only around 100 people, land for the construction of the church was nevertheless obtained.

For details of the dispute, read the LF report “Under the Intelligence Umbrella: Russian Church Near a NATO Airfield in Sweden.”