Ukraine is home to millions of believers of the Orthodox Church. But their loyalties are divided between the Kiev and Moscow patriarchies.
Ukraine is home to millions of believers of the Orthodox Church. But their loyalties are divided between the Kiev and Moscow patriarchies.
On Saturday, a historic council of Orthodox bishops in Kiev created a new Ukrainian church independent from Russia.
The move followed a synod by Ukrainian priests in Kiev’s 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral which was snubbed by representatives of the Moscow-loyal branch.
– Key dates –
Christianity came to Kiev from the city of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul, in the 10th century.
It was transferred to the Moscow patriarchy in 1686, leaving the Ukrainian branch of Orthodoxy under control of Russian church for the next 300 years.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukrainian political leaders and clerics made several attempts to form an independent Ukrainian church, but to no avail.
In 1992, a top Ukrainian cleric — now known as Patriarch Filaret — proclaimed the independence of the Kiev Patriarchate but it was not recognised by any Orthodox church in the world.
