Ukrainian Orthodox leaders hold convention creating autocephalous church

The unifying convention to create an autocephalous,
canonical Orthodox Christian Church occurred without incident on Dec. 15 at St.
Sophia’s Cathedral in central Kyiv under the tutelage of Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew of Constantinople and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, a
member of its presidium. The convention declared the creation of the Orthodox
Church of Ukraine, which will receive its canonical recognition on Jan. 6, the
eve of the Gregorian calendar Christmas. Epifaniy was elected metropolitan of
Kyiv and off of Ukraine, the Orthodox Church equivalent of an archbishop. In
one of his first statements, he said no major decisions would be reached until
canonical recognition is officially granted. The church’s new leadership will
begin forming after canonical recognition is granted on Jan. 6, he said.

The same day, the new church’s leadership announced
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate was no longer canonically
recognized on Ukraine’s territory, and its leader – Onufriy – is no longer the
Kyiv metropolitan. The Moscow Patriarchate ignored the convention, with the
exception of two metropolitans who were declared to be excommunicated
afterwards. Ten of its metropolitans had indicated their intention to attend,
the president said in his remarks. “We underestimated its influence on its
affiliated structures in Ukraine,” he said of the Russian Orthodox Church,
which has broken ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople over
its decision to grant canonical recognition to the Ukrainian church.

Zenon Zawada: Poroshenko
played a central role in the new church’s creation, having described in his
remarks that day how he forced the church leaders to negotiate and compromise
when hurdles and dead ends emerged. It’s no coincidence that he invested his
efforts on the eve of his re-election campaign, during which he aims to gain
the support (and votes) of millions of Ukrainian Orthodox faithful. The
president also described how he acted pre-emptively in preventing provocations,
particularly approaching Vadim Novinsky, an oligarch widely known for his
support of the Russian Orthodox Church.

So the entire process of creating the church has been
a success so far for the president, though it has yet to reap dividends in
votes, according to recent polls. He stands
to gain more support when the process of electing the church leadership begins
and parishes start to join the church in the coming months. For Poroshenko,
it’s absolutely critical to boost his poll ratings in time for the March 31
elections in order to make his claims to have qualified for the second-round
runoff believable. He also needs to narrow his margin with Yulia Tymoshenko,
the leader in the polls, in order to make his second-round victory believable.

As for Russia, the Kremlin has already expressed its
hostility to the Ukrainian church’s creation (with the endorsement of
Constantinople). It creates even more incentive for Russia to pursue its
geopolitical goal of returning the Ukrainian state to its orbit, or dissolving
it altogether. Although this weekend was peaceful, we expect the Kremlin to
stir conflict in the coming months, during which the leadership is formed and
parishes elect to join the new church.