Ukrainian Orthodox Church could gain autocephaly by end-July, Poroshenko says
5 June 2018
The synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of the
Orthodox Christian church can reach its decision granting autocephaly, the
equivalent of canonical status, to the Kyiv Patriarchate of the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church by the end of July, Ukrainian President Poroshenko said during
a visit to Spain on June 3. Patriarchate Bartholomew informed Poroshenko during
his April 9 visit to Istanbul that autocephaly will be granted if the
president’s appeal is supported by Ukraine’s parliament, as well as the
nation’s church hierarchy. Ukraine will commemorate the 1,030-year anniversary
of the Kyiv-Rus state accepting Christianity on July 28.
Zenon Zawada: Normally in
the 21st century, church politics don’t have much of an effect on geopolitics.
But what makes this situation unique is that the most attended church in
Ukraine remains the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate. Among the
arguments that Moscow Patriarchate members make against those belonging to the
Kyiv Patriarchate is the latter is a non-canonical church that was formed
without the Orthodox Church’s approval. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv
Patriarchate is currently the world’s largest Orthodox Church community without
formal recognition, with several million members.
If the Kyiv Patriarchate were to gain canonical status
(an effort currently being led by Poroshenko), it could lead to many thousands
of Ukrainians leaving the Moscow Patriarchate, which is not only loyal to
Russian Orthodox Church Patriarchate Kirill of Moscow, but also serves as a
national network of Russophile politics and culture within Ukraine. Canonical
status would set off an entire chain of events that would severely reduce
Moscow’s influence in Ukrainian spiritual life, affecting millions of
Ukrainians.
So the granting of canonical status will deeply
upset the Russian Orthodox faithful and prompt them to support the most
aggressive plans of Putin, including expanded war in Ukraine and dissolution of
Ukrainian statehood. Donbas terrorist leaders have repeatedly declared their
intention of returning Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, to the Russian empire. Though
such ambitions are unrealistic, Putin has appealed to this fringe imperialist
element in the past.
