Constantinople affirms right to give Ukrainian Orthodox autonomy

Ukraine’s independent Orthodox church can be restored
by decree from the mother church in Constantinople, according to an ongoing
Synaxis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Unian news agency reports that
discussion at the Synaxis on Sept. 2 included a listing of Moscow’s uncanonical
actions going back to the 15th century. The Synaxis follows a last-ditch effort
on Aug. 31 by Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in the form of a
personal visit to dissuade Bartholomew, Patriarch of Constantinople from
continuing in this direction.

James Hydzik: The ramifications of the decision to grant Kyiv autocephaly go far
beyond religious life, and even beyond money flows and influence both
domestically and abroad in Kyiv, Istanbul, and Moscow. Given that Bartholomew
himself read out the list of uncanonical acts by the Russian church, this list
attains the status of fact in the orthodox world, and an open Russia would have
to rewrite centuries of history, and reevaluate its connection to Kyiv, which
in Church history, at least, was never theirs. Over the summer, Russian
officials were warning about their “asymmetric response” if Constantinople
granted autocephaly to a Ukrainian church. Russian-oriented Ukrainian
politicians have also warned about blood being spilled, though usually in a
perceived defense of monasteries that actually belong to the Ukrainian state.