Support The Moscow Times!

Ukrainian Orthodox Church Seeks to Cut Ties With Russia

The Ukrainian parliament has requested that Constantinople recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's independence from Russia, the parliament website reported Thursday.

The appeal to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople — the head of the Orthodox Church— was supported by 245 deputies, with 20 deputies voting against. The move is hoped to speed up “changes that will grant the Ukrainian church independence from an aggressor state,” the Kommersant newspaper reported.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church based in Kiev, and is the only formally recognized Orthodox church in the country.

The group has claimed to have be under increasing fire from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, one of the several unrecognized churches in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged the creation of a single, officially recognized Orthodox church in April, saying that any such group should be “independent from other states.” He said that recent polls showed growing support for the move within Ukraine, the RBC news website reported.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more