The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has officially mandated the rebaptism of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians and banned them the use of the Ukrainian language in divine services. On October 22, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church approved a document titled "Guidelines for the Reception of Individuals from Ukrainian Schismatic Structures Wishing to Join the Russian Orthodox Church." It applies to people in Russian-occupied territories who were previously affiliated with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), or the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The document outlines three procedures for joining the ROC. Notably, it stipulates that individuals baptized within the OCU, UOC-KP, or UAOC must undergo the Sacrament of Baptism again to join the ROC. Different rules apply to those originally baptized within the ROC, the Roman Catholic Church, or a Protestant denomination. Regarding the accession of entire congregations to the ROC, the document states that such a community may not demand a distinct liturgical order or a special administrative status. Furthermore, the use of any language other than Church Slavonic in divine services is prohibited—even though the ROC elsewhere permits the use of various other languages, ranging from English to Japanese.