Biodun.BBC: Ukraine Orthodox priests to establish independent church

Saturday, December 15, 2018

People pray on a square in front of Kiev's St Sophia Cathedral, Ukraine. Photo: 14 October 2018 — Image captionMany Ukrainians welcomed Constantinople's ruling earlier this year, holding a prayer in Kiev

by Maria Ogryzlo and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Kiev

Ukrainian Orthodox priests are due to hold a historic council in Kiev to create a new national church - a move condemned as schism by Russian clergy.

This comes after the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodoxy, recognised the independence of the Ukrainian Church from Moscow.

In protest, the Russian Orthodox Church cut ties with Constantinople.

It also fears that its churches in Ukraine could be seized.

Orthodox Church split: Five reasons why it matters

What about the council in Kiev?

It will be held in the ancient St Sophia's Cathedral - one of Kiev's best known landmarks.

Ukrainian clerics of different Orthodox denominations - including some bishops from the Moscow branch - will be electing a leader of a new church.

President Petro Poroshenko is expected to be an honorary guest at the council.

Ahead of the meeting, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called on religious and world leaders to protect believers and clergymen in Ukraine from what he called persecution.

What is the dispute all about?

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has been under the Moscow Patriarchate for centuries.

But tensions within the church mounted after Ukraine became independent in 1991, with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Today there are currently three Orthodox Church branches based in Kiev:

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church

The drive for Ukrainian Orthodox independence intensified in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and Russia-backed separatists seized a big swathe of territory in eastern Ukraine.

The Moscow branch of the Ukrainian Church has denied being a tool of the Kremlin, and says it has tried to bring about peace in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this year Constantinople - seen as the first among equals in the world's Orthodoxy - overruled its decision dating back to 1686 to transfer its jurisdiction over Kievan Orthodox churches (known as the Kievan Metropolis) to Moscow.

Now Moscow fears losing many of its 12,000 parishes in Ukraine.

Constantinople holds sway over more than 300 million Orthodox Christians across the world.

The Russian Orthodox Church is by far the biggest.