Why did the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches split? – The Economist

Jan 6th 2022

ON JANUARY 7TH Orthodox Christians in Russia and Ukraine, among other places, celebrate Christmas. Most branches of this traditionalist church retain the Julian calendar, a precursor to the Gregorian calendar used in most countries (the name refers to reforms by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582), which puts Christmas on December 25th. In recent years, in the wake of Russian attacks on Ukraine, the festival has gained new significance. For decades Ukraines Russian-affiliated branch was the only one in the country recognised by Orthodox church leaders. But on January 5th 2019 the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a separate body with no ties to Russia, was granted self-governing status by the head of the Orthodox church in Constantinople. What caused the split and how does it play into tensions between the two countries today?

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Few people in Orthodox Christian countries are churchgoers. Around 12% of the population in Ukraine and 6% in Russia attend regularly, according to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank and pollster. But a far higher share78% of Ukrainians and 71% of Russiansidentify as Orthodox Christians. Religion is linked to national identity: 51% of Ukranians say it is important for a person to be Orthodox to be truly Ukrainian, and 57% of Russians say the same. Their Christian history is long and closely entwined. The faith arrived in the ninth century in Kievan Rus, a state that spanned modern-day Belarus, Ukraine and western Russia. Russian leaders, including Vladimir Putin, have traced the roots of all three countries back to this kingdom in an effort to justify their regional hegemony. As national boundaries shifted, the shared origin of the Russian and Ukrainian churches bound them together. After the fall of the Soviet Union, officially atheist, Ukraines church remained a subsidiary of the Russian patriarchate.

Unusually, the Russian-affiliated church was not the only Orthodox body in Ukraine. A second church, established after the Russian Revolution mainly for Ukranians in exile, returned to the country after independence. And in 1992 a third, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, was established as an independent national church. The divide between these churches and the Russian branch reflected the tension in Ukraine between an independent European identity and Russian influence. The Russian church, which claimed to have more than 11,000 parishes, was dominant, particularly in the eastern part of Ukraine, which abuts Russia and has many Russian-speakers. The other churches had around 5,500 parishes between them, many in the west.

Russias annexation of Crimea, a Ukrainian province, in 2014 hardened attitudes to the Russian Orthodox church. In Ukraine opinion polls showed that support for its leader, Patriarch Kirill, plummeted from 40% of the population in 2013 to 15% in 2018. Orthodox believers left the Russian-affiliated church for the independent churches in droves. In 2018, Petro Poroshenko, then Ukraines president, asked the Orthodox churchs overall leader, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, to grant Ukraines church autocephaly, or full self-governing status. Patriarch Bartholomew later told the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think-tank, that he had rejected seven such requests from Ukraines independent churches, but the appeal from the president and parliament convinced him. After the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received tomos, the document confirming its autonomy, at least 500 formerly Russian parishes switched to its jurisdiction. It is recognised internationally by a handful of Orthodox churches and many other faith groups. But Russia has refused to accept the church. It broke off relations with Constantinople following its decision to grant autocephaly. Those Orthodox churches that have subsequently recognised Ukraines have received similar treatment from Moscow.

In Russia, the split still rankles. Vladimir Putin, the countrys president, has said that autocephaly was intended to divide the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. In July, months before he sent 100,000 troops to the Ukrainian border, Mr Putin claimed that the countries spiritual unity was under attack. Supporters of the Russian church, which still controls thousands of Ukranian parishes, marched in Kiev that month. But for all the noise, church autonomy in Ukraine is almost certainly irreversible and will hasten the cultural divorce from Russia. Last month, in a sign of that growing divide, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine proposed moving Christmas Day to December 25th.

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Why did the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches split? - The Economist