The truth about the status of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine which is one of the main reasons for the Russian invasion on February 24th of 2022:
In his nightly address about 3 weeks ago, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he wanted a law that would “make it impossible for religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in Ukraine”, referring to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated to Moscow.
Russia’s response was immediate and predictable. Dmitriy Medveedev, a former president and prime minister, labelled Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities as “enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith”.
Ukraine has long held valid concerns that the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church poses a security threat, and has instead promoted the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which in 2019 was granted “autocephaly” - the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop- by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the symbolic “first among equals” of the world’s Orthodox churches.
The process was ratified in a ceremony in Istanbul (still referred to as Constantinople in Orthodox circles) on Orthodox Christmas Eve, 2019, when the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Epiphanus I, received Tomos from Bartholemew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
It meant that for Constantinople, which adheres to a strict “one country, one church” principle, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine – loyal to Kyiv – was now the only canonical Ukrainian Orthodox church.
For Ukraine, it was a key moment, as it represented another step away from political, economic and religious subservience to Russia.
The creation of an independent Orthodox church in Ukraine ended more than 300 years of dominance of the Moscow-based church.
Indeed, as a result of the split, Russia lost property, priests, believers and, crucially, its spiritual and symbolic authority over Ukraine. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Russian Orthodoc Church, Patriarch Kirill, condemned the move and broke off relations with the Constantinople Patriarch.
Not only that Christians aren’t persecuted in Ukraine but for the first time Ukrainians are allowed by their own independent Orthodox Church to celebrate Christmas on December 25th as well as on their traditional January 7th day.
In his nightly address about 3 weeks ago, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that he wanted a law that would “make it impossible for religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in the Russian Federation to operate in Ukraine”, referring to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church affiliated to Moscow.
Russia’s response was immediate and predictable. Dmitriy Medveedev, a former president and prime minister, labelled Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities as “enemies of Christ and the Orthodox faith”.
Ukraine has long held valid concerns that the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church poses a security threat, and has instead promoted the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which in 2019 was granted “autocephaly” - the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop- by the Patriarch of Constantinople, the symbolic “first among equals” of the world’s Orthodox churches.
The process was ratified in a ceremony in Istanbul (still referred to as Constantinople in Orthodox circles) on Orthodox Christmas Eve, 2019, when the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Epiphanus I, received Tomos from Bartholemew, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
It meant that for Constantinople, which adheres to a strict “one country, one church” principle, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine – loyal to Kyiv – was now the only canonical Ukrainian Orthodox church.
For Ukraine, it was a key moment, as it represented another step away from political, economic and religious subservience to Russia.
The creation of an independent Orthodox church in Ukraine ended more than 300 years of dominance of the Moscow-based church.
Indeed, as a result of the split, Russia lost property, priests, believers and, crucially, its spiritual and symbolic authority over Ukraine. Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Russian Orthodoc Church, Patriarch Kirill, condemned the move and broke off relations with the Constantinople Patriarch.
Not only that Christians aren’t persecuted in Ukraine but for the first time Ukrainians are allowed by their own independent Orthodox Church to celebrate Christmas on December 25th as well as on their traditional January 7th day.