As Russia builds up its forces on the Ukrainian border in preparation for a possible invasion, tensions between the two countries are also escalating through another conflict taking place in the corridors of competing Orthodox churches.

In his article on "The Conversation", Eugene Clay, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, says that two different Orthodox churches claim to be the true Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Ukrainian people, and the two churches present strikingly different visions of the relationship between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples. .

two orthodox churches

The writer says that he has been fascinated by the religious history of Russia and Ukraine since he first visited the Ukrainian capital Kiev as part of a scientific exchange in 1984, and decided to continue his academic research to explore the history of Christianity and the special role of religion in societies and politics in Eurasia.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, relations between the two countries have been particularly strained, and these tensions are reflected in the two churches' very different approaches toward Russia.

The oldest and largest church is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.

According to Ukrainian government statistics, in 2018, more than 12,000 dioceses (a unit in the church system headed by a bishop or metropolitan) belonged to this church. It is a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and is subject to the spiritual authority of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. Patriarch Kirill and his predecessor, Patriarch Alexy The second time and again their keenness on the strong ties that bind the peoples of Ukraine and Russia.

By contrast, the second, newer church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, celebrates its independence from Moscow with the blessing of the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome Bartholomew (who is based in Istanbul). An official council met in Kiev in December 2018 and established the new church, Its leader, Metropolitan Epiphany, was elected.

In January 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew officially recognized the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as a separate, independent and equal member of the Universal Communion of Orthodox Churches.

The fully independent and self-governing Orthodox Church of Ukraine was the culmination of decades of efforts by Ukrainian parishioners who wanted their own national church free from any foreign religious authority, and as an expression of Ukraine's spiritual independence, this new autonomous Orthodox Church of Ukraine presented a challenge to Moscow .

In Orthodox terminology, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine claims to be "autocephalous", a term belonging to the ancient Byzantine law and referring to churches that enjoy complete legal and administrative independence and elect their presidents and bishops.

Unlike the Catholic Church, which has one supreme spiritual leader, the Pope, the Orthodox Church around the world is divided into 14 universally recognized, independent or autonomous churches, each with its own head, or “kephale” in Greek, and each independent church upholds the faith of the churches. Same, sister churches and most of the independent churches are national churches, such as the Russian, Roman and Greek Orthodox churches.

Now, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church claims its place among other independent churches.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine includes more than 7,000 dioceses in 44 episcopales, and views Russians and Ukrainians as two different peoples, each worthy of having their own separate church.

An Orthodox priest participates in a protest march against the official visit of the Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew to Kiev in 2021 (Getty Images)

Independent Church of Ukraine

The main issue that separates the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate is their relationship to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate has great autonomy in its internal affairs.

However, it is ultimately subordinate to Patriarch Kirill (Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia since 2009) who must formally affirm his leadership and leadership, and the Church affirms the unity it enjoys with Russian Orthodox believers.

By contrast, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is independent of any other religious body.

For the church's proponents, this independence allows it to develop a uniquely Ukrainian expression of Christianity.

A common orthodox Christian tradition

In both Russia and Ukraine, Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religious tradition.

According to a 2015 Pew survey, 71% of Russians and 78% of Ukrainians identify themselves as Orthodox, and religious identity remains an important cultural factor in both countries.

Orthodox Christians in both Russia and Ukraine trace their religious conversion to the Grand Prince of Kiev in 988 AD;

The pagan prince known as Vladimir I to the Russians and Volodymyr to the Ukrainians, who made his principality (Kiev Rus or Kievan Rus) an Orthodox Christian nation, and from there it passed to the inhabitants of the "Rus Khanate" (Eastern Slavic lands) after being baptized by Christian missionaries from Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire At that time, Kiev became the most important religious center for the Eastern Slavs.

Destroyed by the Mongols in 1240, Kiev fell into decline even as its northern neighbor, Moscow, grew in power.

By 1686, Russia had occupied eastern Ukraine and Kiev, and in that year the Patriarch of Constantinople formally transferred his spiritual authority over Ukraine to the Patriarch of Moscow.

In the 20th century, a growing nationalist movement called for Ukraine's independence, including church and state.

Although Ukraine became an independent country in 1991, the only internationally recognized national Orthodox Church remained under Moscow.

Some Ukrainian Orthodox Christians tried to establish an independent church in 1921, 1942 and 1992, and these efforts largely failed, and the churches they formed were not recognized by the global Orthodox community, according to the author.

Ukrainian Independent Church

In April 2018, Petro Poroshenko, then-President of Ukraine, once again attempted to form an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

At least 3 different churches claimed to be the true Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and Poroshenko hoped to unite these competing bodies.

The first was the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate which was the largest church, and was recognized by the Orthodox community all over the world.

However, it was and remains subordinate to the Moscow Patriarch, a situation unacceptable to many Ukrainians.

Two other churches, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kiev Patriarchate, failed to gain recognition from the other Orthodox churches.

A prayer sponsored by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was held in central Kiev in July 2019 (Getty Images)

Constantinople support

But the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I supported the Independent Church of Ukraine, and as the preeminent bishop of the ancient capital of the Byzantine Empire, Bartholomew enjoys first place in honor among all the heads of the Orthodox Churches.

Although Eastern Orthodox Christianity had no clear way to create a new independent church, Bartholomew argued that he had the authority to grant this status, since Ukraine had originally received Christianity from the Byzantines, and Constantinople was the mother church in Kiev.

In December 2018, a church council officially dissolved the other branches of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and established the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and in January 2019 Bartholomew signed an official decree declaring the new church independent.

mixed reactions

So far, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine has received recognition from 4 other independent Orthodox churches. The churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Greece and Cyprus have welcomed the new church.

But 3 other independent churches explicitly rejected the new church, so that the Moscow Patriarchate cut its partnership with Constantinople because of Constantinople's role in establishing the new church.

Nadezhda Kisenko, a prominent historian of Orthodoxy, said Bartholomew broke Orthodox unity to create a church of questionable legitimacy.

In a previous comment on the decision, the official spokesman of the Russian Orthodox Church, Alexander Volkov, told Al Jazeera Net that "the Ukrainian Church has never sought independence at the hands of the Orthodox believers in Ukraine, but rather this stemmed from the exclusive initiatives of Ukrainian political forces."

He stated that it is necessary to confirm that the Church of Ukraine has been independent since 1990, "when Patriarch Alexy II, the former Patriarch of the Russian Church, granted his Ukrainian Church under the leadership of Tomos autonomy and complete independence in its administration."

The official spokesman of the Russian Orthodox Church continues, "For this we understand that the decision of the Patriarchate of Constantinople does not mean recognizing the independence of the existing Ukrainian Church, but rather an attempt to legitimize splinter ecclesiastical organizations, linking them with the Church by force, and thus breaking the historical and ecclesiastical spiritual unity of the Russian Church."

By contrast, famous theologian Cyril Hovron hailed the idea of ​​an independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine as "positive evidence of solidarity with the Ukrainian people who suffered from Russian aggression".

Two visions of history

Today, the two main competing expressions of Orthodoxy in Ukraine reflect two different historical visions of the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians.

In the eyes of the Moscow Patriarchate, Russians and Ukrainians are one people;

Therefore they must be united by one Church.

The Orthodox Church in Ukraine has a completely different view.

In an interview with the BBC, Metropolitan Epiphany of Kiev and All Ukraine strongly rejected "Russian imperial traditions" and said that Ukrainians are a separate people with a unique culture, so they need an independent church.

The writer concludes by saying that the future of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is not clear, and it enjoys the support of many sister churches, but at the same time it faces fierce opposition from Moscow.

At present, this remains a source of religious and cultural controversy between Russia and Ukraine.