---
title: "Lavrov and the Vatican Nuncio: Moscow Frames the Church Crisis in Ukraine as an International Issue"
description: "At a meeting with the Vatican nuncio in Moscow, Lavrov called on the Holy See to pay attention to the \"persecution\" of the UOC against the backdrop of the entry into force of Ukrainian Law 3894-IX. The talks also covered the humanitarian tracks of the exchange of detainees and the return of children."
date: 2026-08-25T11:23:17.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/lavrov-vatican-nuncio-upc-persecution-law-3894-ix
tags: [lavrov, vatican, uoc, ukraine, religion-diplomacy, pope-francis, humanitarian, law-3894]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Lavrov and the Vatican Nuncio: Moscow Frames the Church Crisis in Ukraine as an International Issue

![Negotiations between Sergey Lavrov and Vatican representatives on the church crisis in Ukraine](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/25/lavrov-nuncij-vatikan-upc-goneniya-zakon-3894/lavrov-nuncij-vatikan-upc-goneniya-zakon-3894-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Lavrov, at a meeting with Vatican Nuncio D'Aniello, spoke of "systematic persecution" of the UOC and called on the Holy See to pressure Kyiv
- The meeting took place against the backdrop of the entry into force of Ukrainian Law No. 3894-IX, which allows courts to ban religious organizations linked to Russian centers
- Pope Francis had earlier publicly criticized the law, stating that no Christian church should be banned
- The Vatican, through Cardinal Zuppi, is running a parallel humanitarian mission on the exchange of detainees and the return of children
- Moscow is using the church track to internationalize the intra-Ukrainian crisis and shift the discussion to the plane of human rights

On August 25, 2026, a working meeting was held in Moscow between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican to the Russian Federation, Archbishop Giovanni D'Aniello. During the talks, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry officially stated that Moscow looks to the Holy See for assistance in protecting the rights of the faithful, and called on the Vatican, in its contacts with Ukrainian leadership, to pay special attention to what the Russian side characterizes as "systematic persecution" of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Beyond the church-related track, the diplomats discussed the humanitarian aspects of the conflict, including the exchange of detained persons and the return of children. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the entry into force in Ukraine of Law No. 3894-IX, which allows courts to ban the activities of religious organizations linked to governing centers in Russia.

### Legal context: Law No. 3894-IX and its mechanisms

The high-profile Ukrainian Law No. 3894-IX, which entered into force on the eve of this diplomatic meeting, establishes a judicial mechanism for banning the activities of religious organizations whose governing centers are located on the territory of Russia. Formally, the law contains no direct mention of the UOC, yet it is precisely this structure that is the primary object of the normative act. From a legal standpoint, the law operates on the criterion of "linkage to a governing center," which enables judicial bodies to issue decisions on the liquidation or suspension of the activities of parishes and dioceses. The Russian side classifies this act as an instrument of political pressure on religious communities, while official Kyiv insists that the law is aimed at eliminating channels of foreign influence and an "agent network" in the religious sphere.

### Contradictory data

The two sides of the conflict offer fundamentally different interpretations of the same events. Russian diplomacy, in the person of Lavrov, uses the terminology of "systematic persecution" and "violations of freedom of religion," positioning Kyiv's actions as undemocratic pressure on millions of parishioners. The Ukrainian side, by contrast, claims that it is fighting a "Kremlin agent network in clerical robes" and eliminating channels of foreign influence on domestic policy. The difference in how the same legal procedures — the judicial ban of a religious organization — are qualified as either "persecution" or as "defense of sovereignty" is the key discrepancy that the Vatican is forced to take into account while maintaining a neutral position. Pope Francis had earlier publicly criticized the law, stating that "no Christian church should be banned, directly or indirectly" and that "churches should not be touched," which formally supports the Russian side's argumentation, but does not amount to an automatic recognition of its overall political position.

### The Vatican as an institutional channel: the role of the nunciature and the Zuppi mission

The Holy See remains one of the few Western institutions maintaining a direct working dialogue with the Russian Foreign Ministry at the level of a permanent representation. Apostolic Nuncio Giovanni D'Aniello acts not merely as an observer but as an active participant in the humanitarian tracks. In parallel, the Vatican is conducting a non-public humanitarian mission through the special envoy of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who had previously visited both Kyiv and Moscow, coordinating the issues of the exchange of detained persons and the return of children directly with the Holy See. This structure allows the Vatican to simultaneously perform the functions of mediator and observer, without being tied to formal negotiation formats in which state structures participate.

### Long-term diplomatic consequences

The talks between Lavrov and the Vatican nuncio represent an attempt by Moscow to internationalize the intra-Ukrainian church crisis, shifting the discussion from the plane of military confrontation to the plane of human rights protection and freedom of religion. For Russian diplomacy, this allows it to use the Vatican's argumentation — Pope Francis's statements against the banning of churches — as an additional factor of pressure on Kyiv in contacts with third countries, above all with conservative circles of the Global South. For the Vatican, in turn, maintaining the role of mediator on the humanitarian lines is a strategic asset: the Holy See is securing its place in future peace negotiations, demonstrating its ability to conduct dialogue with both sides of the conflict. Pope Francis, meanwhile, is balancing between support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and a categorical rejection of precedents of churches being closed by secular authorities for political motives, which in the long term could affect Catholic and Greek-Catholic communities in other unstable regions of the world.

### Assessment of the institutional resilience of the church track

The systematization of contacts at the level of the Russian Foreign Ministry — the Vatican nunciature creates a stable institutional channel that does not depend on the current phase of the military conflict. The inclusion in the meeting's agenda of not only the church issue but also the humanitarian tracks (exchange of detainees, return of children) indicates that the Vatican regards the church-related problem as part of a broader package of humanitarian commitments. For Moscow, this means the possibility of periodically re-actualizing the UOC issue in the international discourse without the need to tie it to specific military events. For Kyiv — the risk that a domestic decision on religious policy will be constantly re-examined through the prism of international obligations to the Vatican, which complicates any further tightening of legislation in this area.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly did Lavrov state at the meeting with the Vatican nuncio?
**A:** Lavrov stated that Moscow looks to the Holy See for assistance in protecting the rights of the faithful, and called on the Vatican, in its contacts with Kyiv, to pay attention to what the Russian side characterizes as "systematic persecution" of the UOC. The humanitarian tracks were also discussed: the exchange of detained persons and the return of children.

### Q: What is Ukrainian Law No. 3894-IX?
**A:** The law allows courts to ban the activities of religious organizations linked to governing centers in Russia. Formally, it does not name the UOC directly, but it is precisely this structure that is the primary object of its application. The Russian side classifies the law as political pressure, while the Ukrainian side — as protection against foreign influence.

### Q: What is Pope Francis's position on this law?
**A:** Pope Francis publicly criticized the law, stating that "no Christian church should be banned, directly or indirectly" and that "churches should not be touched." This statement formally aligns with the Russian side's argumentation, but does not amount to recognition of its overall political position.

### Q: What role does the Vatican play in the humanitarian negotiations?
**A:** The Vatican is conducting a non-public humanitarian mission through the special envoy of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who visited both Kyiv and Moscow. In parallel, the Vatican nunciature to the Russian Federation (Archbishop D'Aniello) maintains a direct dialogue with the Russian Foreign Ministry on the church and humanitarian tracks.