Church in Ukraine under disputed jurisdiction of Russian Orthodox church
The
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
(
UOC
),
[d]
commonly referred to by the exonym
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate
(
UOC-MP
),
[e]
is an
Eastern Orthodox
church in
Ukraine
.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in place of Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, under the leadership of Metropolitan
Filaret
, as the Ukrainian branch of the
Russian Orthodox Church
.
[10]
[7]
On 27 May 2022, following a church-wide council in Kyiv, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announced its full independence and autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate. The council made this decision in protest of the February
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
, and particularly in response to
Russian Orthodox Church head
Patriarch Kirill
's support for the invasion.
[4]
The UOC is one of the
two major
Eastern Orthodox
ecclesiastical bodies in modern
Ukraine
, alongside the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
(OCU). Since the
Unification Council
on 15 December 2018 which formed the OCU, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople has disputed the claims by the Moscow Patriarchate of its ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the territory of Ukraine.
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
The Russian Orthodox Church does not currently recognize a change in their relationship to the UOC.
[15]
[6]
[16]
However, in June 2023 ROC hierarch
Metropolitan Leonid (Gorbachev)
of
Klin
, scorned the UOC's decision to separate from the Moscow Patriarchate, saying, "When the opportunity presented itself to get out from under the wing of Moscow, they did it," and declared that the ROC would absorb the UOC's dioceses in
Russian occupied areas of Ukraine
.
[17]
By late April 2023 the local/regional councils of (the city of)
Lviv
,
Rivne Oblast
,
Volyn Oblast
and
Zhytomyr Oblast
had voted to ban the activities of the UOC-MP.
[18]
[19]
In October 2023, the
Verkhovna Rada
initiated steps to ban the UOC due to its alleged ties with Russia. This came in spite of the UOC claiming it had severed ties with Moscow following Russia's invasion.
[20]
[21]
However, the UOC has never declared full autocephaly from Moscow.
[22]
Name
[
edit
]
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church insists on its name being just the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
,
[23]
stating that it is the sole canonical body of Orthodox Christians in the country,
[23]
a Ukrainian "local church" (
Ukrainian
:
Пом?сна Церква
). The church rejects being labeled "Russian" or "Moscow."
[24]
It is also the name that it is registered under in the State Committee of Ukraine in Religious Affairs.
[25]
It is often referred to as the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
or
UOC (MP)
[26]
[27]
[28]
in order to distinguish between the two rival churches contesting the name of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Following the creation of the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
, on 20 December 2018, the
Ukrainian parliament
voted to force the UOC-MP to rename itself in its mandatory state registration, its new name must have "the full name of the church to which it is subordinated".
[29]
[30]
[31]
This was protested by UOC-MP adherents.
[32]
On 11 December 2019 the
Supreme Court of Ukraine
allowed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) to retain its name.
[33]
The UOC had argued that their governing center is in Ukraine's capital,
Kyiv
, not in
Russia
's capital,
Moscow
, and therefore it should not be renamed.
[33]
On 27 December 2022 the
Constitutional Court of Ukraine
ordered the UOC to change its name and indicate its affiliation with Russia.
[2]
[34]
It took into account the verdict of the
European Court of Human Rights
in the case "Ilin and others against Ukraine" that stated
Ukrainian law
could force "religious organization, wishing to be registered, to take a name which makes it impossible to mislead the faithful and society as a whole and which makes it possible to distinguish it from existing organizations."
[34]
In May 2024 of the 8,097 UOC parishes 22 of them directly indicated their affiliation in their name.
[2]
Relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church
[
edit
]
Prior to the
February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
the church stated that it was one of the "self-governing" churches under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, i.e. the
Russian Orthodox Church (ROC)
. (In the terminology of the current Statute of the ROC, a "self-governing Church" is distinguished from an "
autonomous Church
").
[35]
[36]
[37]
The UOC claims since May 2022 that 'any provisions that at least somehow hinted at or indicated the connection with
Moscow
were excluded'; since then it is a matter of dispute as to whether the Church is under the
ecclesiastical jurisdiction
of the Russian Orthodox Church.
[15]
Despite claims that the church did not publish its new statute,
[5]
the new statute is publicly available on government,
[38]
news,
[39]
and official church
[40]
websites.
The ROC defines the UOC-MP as a "self-governing church with rights of wide autonomy".
[35]
It has also ignored all UOC-MP's declarations of it not being connected with it anymore and continues to include UOC-MP clerics in various commissions or working groups.
[15]
[6]
According to the Russian Orthodox Church, the
Primate of the UOC-MP
is the most senior
[41]
permanent member of the ROC's
Holy Synod
and thus has a say in its decision-making in respect of the rest of the ROC throughout the world.
Despite the
de facto
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
in 2014, the
eparchies
of the UOC in
Crimea
have continued to be administered by the UOC.
[42]
In June 2022 the
Moscow Patriarchate
claimed to transfer Crimea from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the Moscow Patriarchate.
[43]
The UOC continues to list the Crimean eparchies as its own, and has not recognized any change to its territorial boundaries based on decisions taken by the ROC.
[44]
On 27 March 2023, Archbishop Viktor (Kotsaba) said that the territories of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church include the Crimea and Donbas areas of Ukraine.
[45]
On 21 June 2023,
Metropolitan Leonid (Gorbachev)
of
Klin
, a hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, decried the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's decision to separate from the Moscow Patriarchate and declared that the Russian Orthodox Church would absorb UOC dioceses in
areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia
.
[17]
In a Patriarchal calendar for 2024 released by the Russian Orthodox Church in December 2023 all the then bishops of the (designated itself as not connected to
Russia
) UOC were listed as bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.
[16]
In response, Archbishop Jonah (Cherepanov) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said that the UOC does not recognize any of the ROC's attempts to make decisions affecting Ukrainian dioceses.
[46]
Later, the UOC's official website stated the following: "In order not to become an object of manipulation, everybody wishing to obtain official information about the UOC and its episcopate should refer solely to official sources of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This pertains also to information included in church calendars."
[47]
The UOC publicly distended itself from the
World Russian People's Council
headed and led by ROC head
Patriarch
Kirill of Moscow
of late March 2024.
[48]
During this Congress a document was approved that stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a "
Holy War
."
[48]
The document also stated that following the war "the entire territory of modern Ukraine should enter the zone of Russia's exclusive influence".
[48]
This was to be done so "The possibility of the existence of a
Russophobic
political regime hostile to Russia and its people on this territory, as well as a political regime controlled from an external center hostile to Russia, should be completely excluded."
[48]
The document also made reference to the "
triunity of the Russian people
" and it claimed that
Belarusians
and
Ukrainians
"should be recognised only as
sub-ethnic groups
of the
Russians
".
[48]
The UOC stated on 28 March 2024 that they "dissociates itself from the ideology of the
Russian world
."
[48]
History
[
edit
]
Under the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
[
edit
]
Metropolises in Moscow, Lithuania and Galicia
[
edit
]
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church considers itself the sole descendant in modern Ukraine of the
Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'
that was established in the 10th century following the
baptism of Kievan Rus'
. Due to the
Mongol invasion of Rus'
in the 13th century, the metropolitan seat was moved to
Vladimir
and later to
Moscow
. In the
Kingdom of Galicia and Volhynia
to the south-west, a separate metropolis was erected - the
Metropolis of Halych
. Similarly, in the north-west, another metropolis was erected at the behest of
Algirdas
, the
Grand Duke of Lithuania
- the
Metropolis of Lithuania
.
Revival
[
edit
]
In 1596, the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galich and all Rus'
Michael Rohoza
accepted the
Union of Brest
transforming dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople into the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
under the
Holy See
's jurisdiction. In 1620, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Cyril Lucaris
reestablished Orthodox dioceses for the Orthodox population of what was then the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
? under the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia, and all Russia
Job Boretsky
as the Patriarchal
Exarch
.
Merger into the Moscow Patriarchate
[
edit
]
Following the
transfer
of the
Cossack Hetmanate
under the sovereignty of the
Tsardom of Russia
in 1654, the Kyivan metropolis in 1686
[49]
[50]
was transferred by the Patriarch
Dionysius IV
under the jurisdiction of the
Moscow Patriarchate
, following the election of
Gedeon Svyatopolk-Chetvertynsky
as the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia, and all Russia with the help of the
Hetman of Zaporizhian Host
Ivan Samoylovych
. In late 2018, the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
indicated that information about that it transferred jurisdiction over Ukraine to the Moscow Patriarchate was inaccurate as Constantinople temporarily provided Moscow with stewardship over the Ukrainian church.
[51]
The
Russian Orthodox Church
immediately rejected that statement and called for further discussion and revision of historical archives.
[52]
Soon, Gedeon gradually lost control of the dioceses which had been under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Kyiv. In January 1688, Gedeon's title was changed by Moscow to the ″Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galich, and Little Russia″. Gedeon's successors were effectively mere diocesan bishops under the Moscow Patriarchate and later
Russia
's
Most Holy Synod
.
Before the
Battle of Poltava
, when
Ivan Mazepa
sided with
Carl XII
, the new Metropolitan Ioasaf along with bishops of Chernigov and Pereyaslav was summoned by
Peter the Great
to
Hlukhiv
where they were ordered to declare an
anathema
onto Mazepa. After the battle of Poltava, in 1709 Metropolitan Ioasaf was exiled to
Tver
and in 1710 a church censorship was introduced to the Kyiv metropolia. In 1718 Metropolitan Ioasaf was arrested and dispatched to
Saint Petersburg
for interrogation where he died.
From 1718 to 1722, the Metropolitan See in Kyiv was vacant and ruled by the Kyiv Spiritual Consistory (under the authority of the
Most Holy Synod
); in 1722 it was occupied by Archbishop Varlaam.
Synodal period
[
edit
]
In 1730, Archbishop Varlaam with all members of the Kyiv Spiritual Consistory were put on trial by the Privy Chancellery. After being convicted, Varlaam as a simple monk was exiled to the
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery
in Vologda region where he served a sentence of imprisonment of 10 years. After the death of the Russian Empress
Anna
in 1740, Varlaam was allowed to return and recovered all his
Archiereus
titles. He however refused to accept back those titles and, after asked to be left in peace, moved to the
Tikhvin Assumption Monastery
. In 1750 Varlaam accepted the
Great Schema
under the name of Vasili and soon died in 1751.
In 1743, the title of Metropolitan was re-instated for Archbishop
Raphael Zaborovsky
.
On 2 April 1767, the Empress of Russia
Catherine the Great
issued an edict stripping the title of the Kyivan Metropolitan of the style "and all Little Russia".
[53]
Fall of monarchy in Russia and Exarchate
[
edit
]
Metropolitan
Vladimir Bogoyavlensky
chaired the All-Ukrainian Church Council that took a break between its sessions on 18 January 1918 and was to be resumed in May 1918. On 23?24 January 1918, the Red Guards of
Reingold Berzin
occupied Kyiv (see
Ukrainian?Soviet War
). In the evening of 25 January 1918, Metropolitan Vladimir was found dead between walls of the Old Pechersk Fortress beyond the Gates of All Saints, having been killed by unknown people.
In May 1918, the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galich
Antony Khrapovitsky
was appointed to the
Kyiv eparchy
, a former candidate to become the
Patriarch of Moscow
at the
Russian Local Council
of 1917 and losing it to the
Patriarch Tikhon
. In July 1918 Metropolitan Antony became the head of the All-Ukrainian Church Council. Eventually he sided with the Russian
White movement
supporting the Denikin's forces of
South Russia
, while keeping the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych. After the defeat of the Whites and the exile of Antony, in 1919-21 the metropolitan seat was temporarily held by the bishop of Cherkasy Nazariy (also the native of
Kazan
). After the arrest of Nazariy by the Soviet authorities in 1921, the seat was provisionally held by the bishop of Grodno and newly elected Exarch of Ukraine Mikhail, a member of the Russian
Black Hundreds
nationalistic movement. After his arrest in 1923, the Kyiv eparchy was provisionally headed by various bishops of neighboring eparchies until 1927. After his return in 1927 Mikhail became the Metropolitan of Kyiv and Exarch of Ukraine until his death in 1929.
In 1945, after the integration of
Zakarpattia Oblast
into the
USSR
, eastern parts of the
Eparchy of Muka?evo and Pre?ov
were transferred from the supreme jurisdiction of the
Serbian Orthodox Church
to the jurisdiction of the Exarchate of Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and a new Eparchy of Mukachevo and Uzhgorod was formed.
Dissolution of the Soviet Union and self rule
[
edit
]
On 28 October 1990,
[54]
the Moscow Patriarchate granted the Ukrainian Exarchate a status of a self?governing church under the jurisdiction of the ROC (but
not
the full
autonomy
as is understood in the ROC legal terminology). However, the Ukrainian branch remained crucial to the Moscow Patriarchate, because of historical and traditional roots in Kyiv and Ukraine, and because nearly a third of the Moscow Patriarchate's 36,000 congregations were in Ukraine.
[55]
Metropolitan
Vladimir (Sabodan)
, who succeeded
Filaret (Denysenko)
, was enthroned in 1992 as the Primate of the UOC under the title
Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine
, with the official residency in the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
, which also houses all of the Church's administration.
The UOC-MP, prior to 2019, was believed to be the largest religious body in Ukraine with the greatest number of parish churches and communities counting up to half of the total in Ukraine and totaling over 10,000. The UOC also claimed to have up to 75 percent of the Ukrainian population.
[56]
Independent surveys showed significant variance. According to
Stratfor
, in 2008, more than 50 percent of Ukrainian population belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarch.
[57]
Razumkov Centre
survey results, however, tended to show greater adherence to the rival
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate
.
[58]
Many Orthodox Ukrainians do not clearly identify with a particular Orthodox jurisdiction and, sometimes, are even unaware of the affiliation of the parish they attend as well as of the controversy itself, which indicates the difficulty of using survey numbers as an indicator of a relative strength of the church. Additionally, the geographical factor plays a major role in the number of adherents, as the Ukrainian population tends to be more churchgoing in the western part of the country rather than in the UOC-MP's heartland in southern and eastern Ukraine. Politically, many in Ukraine see the UOC-MP as merely a puppet of the ROC and consequently a geopolitical tool of
Russia
, which have stridently opposed the consolidation and recognition of the independent OCU.
[59]
Russo-Ukrainian War and changing allegiances of parishes
[
edit
]
Since 2014 the church has come under attack for perceived
anti-Ukrainian
and
pro-Russian
actions by its clergymen.
[60]
In spring 2014 Ukraine lost control over
Crimea
, which
was unilaterally annexed
by Russia in March 2014.
[61]
[62]
[f]
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) Metropolitan of
Feodosia
and
Kerch
Platon Udovenko, and other Ukrainian Orthodox Church priests, blessed Russian weapons and met with representatives of (the then formed Russian administrative unit)
Republic of Crimea
.
[64]
Notwithstanding this Russian annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) kept control of its eparchies in
Crimea
until June 2022.
[42]
[43]
In the same spring 2014 in the
Donbas
region of
eastern Ukraine
,
pro-Russian protests
escalated into an armed separatist insurgency early in April 2014, when masked gunmen took control of several of the region's government buildings and towns.
[61]
[65]
This led to the creation of the
self-proclaimed
Donetsk People's Republic
and
Luhansk People's Republic
.
[61]
[66]
This led to
an armed conflict
between
Russian Separatist forces in Donbas
and the
Ukrainian Army
.
[67]
Instances have been recorded of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) clergymen supporting the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic.
[10]
[64]
On 14 September 2015 the church urged the
pro-Russian separatists
to lay down their arms and take advantage of the amnesty promised to them in the
Minsk II
agreement.
[68]
From 2014 until 2018 around 60 Moscow Patriarchate parishes switched to the Kyivan Patriarchate in transfers the leadership of the Moscow patriarchate says were illegal.
[69]
According to the
Razumkov Center
, among the 27.8 million Ukrainian members of Orthodox churches, allegiance to the Kyiv Patriarchate grew from 12 percent in 2000, to 25 percent in 2016?and much of the growth came from believers who previously did not associate with either patriarchate.
[70]
In April 2018 Moscow patriarchate had 12,300 parishes and the Kyivan Patriarchate 5,100 parishes.
[69]
Ukraine passed laws which the Moscow Patriarchate interpreted as discriminatory in 2017.
[71]
Greater autonomy from the ROC
[
edit
]
From 29 November to 2 December 2017, the Russian Orthodox Church Bishops’ Council met to consider the matter of autonomy to the UOC-MP. The members decided to write a separate chapter of the ROC Statute to confirm the status of UOC-MP which contained the following provisions:
- The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is granted independence and self-governance according to the Resolution of the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church which took place on 25?27 October 1990.
- The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is an independent and self-governed Church with broad autonomy rights.
- In her life and work the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is guided by the Resolution of the 1990 Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the 1990 Deed of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and the Statute on the governance of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
[72]
In December 2017, the
Security Service of Ukraine
published classified documents revealing that the
NKGB
of the USSR and its units in the Union and autonomous republics, territories and regions were engaged in the selection of candidates for participation in the 1945 council that elected
Patriarch Alexy I of Moscow
from the representatives of the clergy and the laity. This included "persons who have religious authority among the clergy and believers, and at the same time checked for civic or patriotic work". A letter sent in September 1944 and signed by the head of the 2nd Directorate of the NKGB of the USSR Fedotov and the head of the Fifth Division 2nd Directorate of Karpov stated that "it is important to ensure that the number of nominated candidates is dominated by the agents of the NKGB, capable of holding the line that we need at the Council."
[73]
[74]
On 13 December 2018 a priest of the church,
Volodymyr Maretsky
, was sentenced in absentia to 6 years of imprisonment for hindering the
Armed Forces of Ukraine
in 2014 during the
Russo-Ukrainian War
.
[75]
In November?December 2018,
Security Service of Ukraine
(SBU) carries out raids across the country targeting the UOC churches and priests.
[76]
[77]
[78]
In the week following the creation of the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
on 15 December 2018, several parishes announced they would leave the UOC (MP) and join the new church.
[79]
On 20 December 2018, the
Verkhovna Rada
(Ukraine's national parliament) passed a legislation to change the UOC's registered name. Ukrainian
deputy
Oleksandr Bryhynets
[
uk
]
described the law as stipulating if "the state is recognized as the aggressor state, the church whose administration is based in the aggressor state must have in its title the full name of the church to which it is subordinate". The law also gave such a church "no right to be represented in
military units
on the front line".
[29]
The Russian Orthodox Church is based in Russia, which is considered by Ukraine as an aggressor state following the
2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
. The UOC was part of the Russian church at that time, but considered to be a "self-governing church with rights of wide autonomy",
[35]
thus, the UOC argued that its governing center was in Kyiv and it could not be legally renamed on the basis of this law.
[33]
On 11 December 2019 the
Supreme Court of Ukraine
allowed the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to retain its name.
[33]
The January 2019 establishment of the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
(OCU) by
Patriarch
Bartholomew I of Constantinople
, joined two other churches: the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church ? Kyiv Patriarchate
(UOC-KP), and the
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
(UAOC), along with two bishops who formerly belonged to the UOC-MP.
[55]
The remaining UOC-MP hierarchy continued to dismiss Patriarch Bartholomew's actions in Ukraine and remained loyal to the UOC-MP, while the church retained the vast majority of its parishes. A May 2019 report by the
European Council on Foreign Relations
noted that the Moscow Patriarchate claimed 11,000 churches in Ukraine, while the new OCU claimed 7,000.
[55]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
[
edit
]
On 24 February 2022, Metropolitan
Onufriy
stated that the
large scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on that day
was "a repetition of the sin of
Cain
, who killed his own brother out of envy. Such a war has no justification either from God or from people."
[83]
In April 2022, after the Russian invasion, some UOC parishes signaled their intention to switch allegiance to the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
. The attitude and stance of the head of the
Russian Orthodox Church
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow
to the war is one of the oft quoted reasons.
[84]
(At the time the UOC and the
other Orthodox churches
stated that the church known as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was one of the "self-governing" churches under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, i.e. the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
[35]
)
On 12 May 2022, the synod of the UOC met for the first time since the start of the war and issued a statement of support for Ukraine's armed forces, while condemning the Russian invasion.
[85]
Some critics claim that the church collaborates with Russian clergymen and that the church turns a blind eye towards these collaborators.
[86]
The same day the church issued another statement in which it insinuated that "the religious policy during the presidency of
P.O. Poroshenko
and the destructive ideology of the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine" had led to the 24 February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
[87]
On 27 May 2022 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church held a
synod
and the same day released a declaration in which it stated "it had adopted relevant additions and changes to the Statute on the Administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which testify to the complete autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
[4]
[88]
[89]
[90]
An official request for
autocephaly
(an autocephalous church does not report to any higher-ranking bishop) was not made; the consent of Russian Orthodox Church (for independence) was not sought; neither was sought the approval of (the) other Orthodox churches.
[15]
The church did not publish its new constitution.
[5]
In an announcement on
Telegram
, Archpriest Nikolai Danilevich (head of the UOC's Department of External Church Relations) stated: "The UOC disassociated itself from the Moscow Patriarchate and confirmed its independent status, and made appropriate changes to its statutes.
[91]
All references to the connection of the UOC with the Russian Orthodox Church have been removed from the statutes. In fact, in its content, the UOC statutes are now those of an autocephalous Church."
[88]
[92]
In its 27 May 2022 declaration the church first (point was to) condemned the war, its secondly called on both
Ukraine
and the
Russian Federation
to continue the
peace negotiations
"for a strong and reasonable dialogue that could stop the bloodshed" and it thirdly stated it disagreed with "the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia regarding the war in Ukraine".
[4]
[88]
In the statement it also expressed its disagreement with the
Patriarch of Constantinople
to grant autocephaly in January 2019 to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and it asked for end of the "forcible seizure of churches and the forced transfer of parishes of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
[4]
[88]
Prior to 27 May 2022, more than 400 parishes had left the Moscow Patriarchate as a consequence of the invasion.
[93]
On 27 May 2022 the church also decided to open foreign parishes.
[4]
By April 2023 it had established more than 40 parishes in 15 European countries (
Austria
,
Belgium
,
Great Britain
,
Denmark
,
Italy
,
Spain
,
Ireland
,
the Netherlands
,
Germany
,
Norway
,
Portugal
,
Hungary
,
France
,
Switzerland
,
Sweden
).
[94]
On 29 May 2022, Metropolitan Onufriy did not mention Patriarch Kirill during the liturgy as someone who had authority over him (like before), instead he commemorated all heads of churches, similar to primatial divine liturgies. Onufriy also did not commemorate the Ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople
,
Patriarch Theodoros II of Alexandria
, Archbishop
Ieronymos II
of Athens (Greece), and Archbishop
Chrysostomos II of Cyprus
- indicating that communion is still interrupted between them.
[95]
[90]
Despite the removal of direct mentions of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Charter of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Alexy II
the statute refers to declares the canonical dependence on the ROC. According to a Ukrainian
theologian
Oleksandr Sahan
[
uk
]
, the church have done these changes in order to avoid renaming in accordance with the Ukrainian law.
[96]
In June 2022 the
Moscow Patriarchate
decided to re-transfer Crimea from the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate by creating the
Metropolitanate of Crimea
.
[43]
Since the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had kept control of its eparchies in
Crimea
.
[42]
[43]
The UOC continues to list the Crimean eparchies and has not recognized any change to its territorial boundaries based on decisions taken by the ROC.
[44]
On 27 March 2023, Archbishop Viktor (Kotsaba) said that the territories of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church include the Crimea and Donbas areas of Ukraine.
[45]
On 30 June 2022 the
Lviv City Council
[
uk
]
decided to ban the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of
Lviv
.
[18]
During the
Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast
Metropolitan of
Izium
and
Kupiansk
Elisey blessed Russian appointed Governor Vitaly Ganchev.
[97]
During the
Russian occupation of Sumy Oblast
Metropolitan of
Romny
Iosif requested that his Metropolitanate would be under direct subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church.
[97]
All
Luhansk Oblast
bishops of the UOC were present at a meeting with the leader of the (a part of Ukraine declared independent by
pro-Russian forces in 2014
)
Luhansk People's Republic
,
Leonid Pasechnik
, in the summer of 2022.
[98]
Metropolitan Panteleymon of
Luhansk
and
Alchevsk
was present during the
annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts
ceremony in
Moscow
,
Russia
, on 30 September 2022.
[98]
Metropolitan Ilarion of
Donetsk
and Metropolitan Lazar of
Crimea
had received invitations to this ceremony, but declined to go.
[98]
Metropolitan Panteleymon refused the possibility that his Metropolitanate would be under direct subordination of the Russian Orthodox Church and he himself does not have
Russian citizenship
.
[98]
Metropolitan Onufriy did not publicly condemn collaborating UOC clergymen, and they were not dismissed from the church.
[10]
[98]
[99]
[100]
[97]
Metropolitan Onufriy did ban from the church UOC clergymen that transferred themself to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU).
[101]
[102]
Following
the liberation of Romny on 4 April 2022
Metropolitan Iosif is believed to have fled to Russia, and he was replaced by Metropolitan Roman on 19 October 2022.
[103]
After in the
2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive
Ukraine recaptured Izium (on 10 September 2022) Metropolitan Elisey also went fugitive and he was replaced also.
[103]
[g]
By early November 2022 the Security Service of Ukraine had exposed 33 alleged "agents" and alleged unofficial
artillery observers
among the UOC priests and
clergy
.
[105]
It had opened 23 criminal proceedings.
[105]
This was part of a series of searches conducted by Ukrainian law enforcement at premises of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, over 350 church buildings and 850 persons were investigated.
[106]
[107]
In 2022 in total 52 criminal cases involving 55 UOC clergymen, including 14 bishops, were opened.
[106]
17 UOC clergymen were sanctioned by the
National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine
.
[108]
They were accused of proposing that the dioceses they lead join the Russian Orthodox Church; agreeing to cooperate with the occupation authorities; promoting pro-Russian narratives; and justifying Russia's military aggression in Ukraine.
[108]
On 2 December 2022 Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
entered a bill to the Verkhovna Rada that would officially ban all activities of the UOC in Ukraine.
[109]
On the same day, the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
monastery was claimed to be extrajudicially transferred from the UOC to the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
(OCU),
[110]
but the UOC refuted this.
[111]
On 14 December 2022 Ukraine handed over a UOC priest to Russia in a prisoner exchange.
[112]
The priest had been sentenced for treason in Ukraine.
[112]
[h]
On 27 December 2022 the
Constitutional Court of Ukraine
recognized as in accordance with the
Constitution of Ukraine
the 20 December 2018 law to change the UOC-MP's registered name to indicate affiliation with Russia.
[34]
The court also upheld the law that restricted access to the
Armed Forces of Ukraine
and other military formations of Ukraine to clergy from a church "from outside Ukraine" "which carried out military aggression against Ukraine."
[34]
Although the UOC-MP in a press conference on 31 December 2022 again stated that ‘any provisions that at least somehow hinted at or indicated the connection with
Moscow
were excluded’, the Russian Orthodox Church ignored this and continued to include UOC-MP clerics in various commissions or working groups despite these individuals not agreeing to this.
[6]
For instances: late December 2022 UOC-MP
Archpriest
Volodymyr Savelyev was against his knowing included in the ROC Publishing Council for the period 2023?2026, after finding this out he demanded to be expelled from the council (while simultaneously condemning "the aggressive war waged by Russia against my homeland ? Ukraine").
[6]
In January 2023 13 representatives of the UOC-MP were deprived of their
Ukrainian citizenship
, including two
metropolitans
.
[114]
In February 2023 five UOC-MP (either) metropolitans,
archbishops
and
bishops
were deprived of their Ukrainian citizenship (Metropolitan Feodosiy Platon was banned from entering Ukraine).
[114]
The religious buildings and other property of the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Cultural Reserve
[
uk
]
(although state property) have been used for decades by the UOC-MP free of charge.
[115]
On 10 March 2023, the Reserve announced that the 2013 agreement on the free use of churches by the religious organisation would be terminated (on the grounds that the church had violated their lease by making alterations to the historic site, and other technical infractions
[116]
) and the UOC-MP was ordered to leave the territory by 29 March.
[115]
The UOC-MP answered back that there were no legal grounds for the eviction and called it "a whim of officials from the
Ministry of Culture
."
[115]
On 17 March 2023 the
press secretary
for Russian President
Vladimir Putin
Dmitry Peskov
stated that the decision of the Ukrainian authorities not to extend this lease to representatives of the UOC-MP "confirms the correctness" of the (24 February 2022) Russian invasion of Ukraine.
[115]
The UOC-MP did not fully leave Kyiv Pechersk Lavra following 29 March 2023.
[117]
[99]
On 7 April 2023
Ukrainska Pravda
reported that their research had uncovered that several high ranking UOC-MP clergymen, including Metropolitan Onufriy, had obtained a
Russian passport
.
[118]
The UOC-MP denied that its clergymen and its leader, Metropolitan Onufrii, had
Russian citizenship
.
[119]
Metropolitan Onufriy did not deny he used to have it, but claimed he had obtained a Russian passport to fulfill his desire of living out his last days in the
Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius
, but that he did not have this ambition anymore.
[120]
On 10 April 2023 the
Rivne Oblast Council
voted to ban the activities of the UOC in
Rivne Oblast
.
[18]
The following day the
Volyn Oblast Council
banned the activities of the church in
Volyn Oblast
.
[18]
On 10 April 2023 registration data
analyser
company
Opendatabot
[
uk
]
stated that 277 parishes had left the Moscow Patriarchate since the February 2022 Russian invasion, of those 227 parishes 63 had done so in (the first three months of) 2023.
[121]
Opendatabot concluded that on 10 April 2023, 8,505 churches were subordinate to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
[121]
On 13 April 2023, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church consecrated
Holy Chrism
in Kyiv, for the first time in 110 years.
[123]
On 27 April 2023 the
Zhytomyr Oblast Council
voted to ban the activities of the church in
Zhytomyr Oblast
.
[19]
On 28 April 2023 the
Vinnytsia Oblast Council
terminated all land lease contracts of the church in
Vinnytsia Oblast
.
[124]
On 3 May 2024 Opendatabot concluded that 8,097 churches were subordinate to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
[2]
Administrative divisions
[
edit
]
In October 2014 the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine was subdivided into 53
eparchies
(
dioceses
) led by bishops. Also there were 25
vicars
(
suffragan bishops
).
In 2008 the Church had 42 eparchies, with 58 bishops (eparchial - 42; vicar - 12; retired - 4; with them being classified as:
metropolitans
- 10;
archbishops
- 21; or
bishops
- 26). There were also 8,516
priests
, and 443
deacons
.
[125]
Technically each Orthodox parish is an individual legal entity.
[10]
Notwithstanding the
2014 Russian annexation of Crimea
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) kept control of its eparchies in
Crimea
until June 2022.
[42]
[43]
In January 2019 the head of the Information and Educational Department of the UOC-MP, Archbishop Clement, stated that "from the point of view of the
church canon
and the church system, Crimea is Ukrainian territory."
[126]
In June 2022 the
Moscow Patriarchate
decided to re-transfer Crimea from the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
[43]
They did this by creating the
Metropolitanate of Crimea
.
[43]
The UOC continues to list the Crimean eparchies and has not recognized any change to its territorial boundaries based on decisions taken by the ROC.
[44]
On 27 March 2023, Archbishop Viktor (Kotsaba) said that the territories of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church include the Crimea and Donbas areas of Ukraine.
[45]
Following the
February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
the church opened more than 40 parishes in 15 European countries (
Austria
,
Belgium
,
Great Britain
,
Denmark
,
Italy
,
Spain
,
Ireland
,
the Netherlands
,
Germany
,
Norway
,
Portugal
,
Hungary
,
France
,
Switzerland
,
Sweden
).
[4]
[94]
List of Primates
[
edit
]
| Metropolitan Varlaam
| Metropolitan Joasaph
| Archbishop Varlaam
| | Metropolitan Timothy
| Metropolitan Arseniy
| | Metropolitan Michael
| Metropolitan Constantine
| | | Metropolitan John
| | | |
|
Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galich, and all Little Russia
[
edit
]
- Metropolitan
Gedeon Svyatopolk-Chetvertynsky
1685?1690, the first Metropolitan of Kyiv of the
Russian Orthodox Church
, until 1688 was titled as the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia, and all Ruthenia
- Metropolitan Varlaam 1690?1707
- Metropolitan Ioasaph 1707?1718
- none
1718?1722
- Archbishop Varlaam 1722?1730
- Metropolitan
Raphael
1731?1747, until 1743 as Archbishop
- Metropolitan Timothy 1748?1757
- Metropolitan Arseniy 1757?1770, in 1767 Metropolitan Arseniy became Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych
Note: in 1770 the office's jurisdiction was reduced to a diocese's administration as Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. The autonomy was liquidated and the church was merged to the
Russian Orthodox Church
.
Exarch of Ukraine
[
edit
]
Due to emigration of Metropolitan
Antony
in 1919, until
World War II
Kyiv eparchy was often administered by provisional bishops. Also because of political situation in Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church introduced a new title in its history as the Exarch of Ukraine that until 1941 was not necessary associated with the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych.
- Metropolitan Mikhail (Yermakov) 1921?1929 (Bishop of Grodno and Brest, 1905?1921; Archbishop of Tobolsk, 1925; and Metropolitan of Kyiv, 1927?1929)
- Metropolitan Konstantin (Dyakov) 1929?1937 (Metropolitan of Kharkiv and Okhtyrka, 1927?1934 and Metropolitan of Kyiv 1934?1937)
- none
1937?1941, exarch was not appointed
Metropolitan of Volyn and Lutsk, Exarch of West Ukraine and Belarus
[
edit
]
On canonical territory of the
Polish Orthodox Church
of the recently annexed territories of
western Ukraine
and
western Belarus
Metropolitan of Kyiv and Halych, Exarch of Ukraine
[
edit
]
Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
On 27 May 2022 the church claimed it had amended its status to "testify to the full independence and autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church".
[4]
[5]
[6]
Recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople as part of the
Russian Orthodox Church
.
[7]
- ^
Recognized by Patriarch
Ilia II of Georgia
as separate from the Russian Orthodox Church on 24 March 2023.
[8]
- ^
March 2022, study by Info Sapiens; 4% of the entire population of Ukraine.
[9]
- ^
Ukrainian
:
Укра?нська православна церква
,
romanized
:
Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva, УПЦ
;
Russian
:
Украинская православная церковь
,
romanized
:
Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', УПЦ
- ^
Russian
:
Украинская православная церковь Московского патриархата, УПЦ-МП
- ^
The status of the Crimea and of the city of
Sevastopol
is currently
under dispute between Russia and Ukraine
; Ukraine and the majority of the international community consider the Crimea to be an
autonomous republic
of Ukraine and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's
cities with special status
, while Russia, on the other hand, considers the Crimea to be a
federal subject of Russia
and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three
federal cities
.
[61]
[63]
- ^
An archpriest of the UOC
Izium
diocese, Oleksandr Svyrydov, who blessed Russian troops during the
Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast
and who also fled to
Russia
when
Kharkiv Oblast was largely liberated
was later appointed rector of the Orthodox parish of the Church of St John the Baptist in
Diocese of Tver
of the
Russian Orthodox Church
.
[104]
- ^
In an interview dated 21 April 2023 the
head
of the
Security Service of Ukraine
Vasyl Malyuk
claimed that Ukraine had exchanged one priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (accused of collaborating with the Russian Federation) for 28 Ukrainian servicemen.
[113]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
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. Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 24 December 2022
. Retrieved
24 December
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"There are still more than 8,000 churches in the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine: where are the most"
.
Ukrainska Pravda ? Zhyttia
(in Ukrainian). 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
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a
b
Report on the network of religious organizations as of January 1, 2022
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a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Resolution of the Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of May 27, 2022"
.
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a
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.
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a
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.
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.
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.
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2023
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a
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"Журнали зас?дання Священного Синоду Укра?нсько? Православно? Церкви в?д 7 грудня 2018 року"
. 7 December 2018.
- ^
Synaxis of Hierarchs of The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
- ^
ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TAKES MOSCOW DOWN A PEG OVER CHURCH RELATIONS WITH UKRAINE
orthodoxyindialogue.com, 2 July 2018.
- ^
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew: “As the Mother Church, it is reasonable to desire the restoration of unity for the divided ecclesiastical body in Ukraine”
(The Homily by Patriarch
Bartholomew
after the memorial service for the late Metropolitan of Perge, Evangelos) The official website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 2 July 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Can the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Survive the War With Russia?"
.
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
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. Retrieved
31 March
2023
.
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a
b
Russian Orthodox Church released "Patriarchal Calendar" with UOC-MP bishops. PHOTO
,
Censor.NET
[
uk
;
ru
]
(15 December 2023)
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a
b
"ROC hierarch: As we conquer Ukraine, we will take away UOC eparchies"
.
Union of Orthodox Journalists
. Retrieved
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.
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a
b
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.
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(in Ukrainian). 11 April 2023
. Retrieved
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.
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a
b
"The UOC-MP was banned in Zhytomyr Oblast"
.
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(in Ukrainian). 27 April 2023.
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"Ukrainian parliament votes to ban Orthodox Church over alleged links with Russia"
.
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. Reuters. 2023-10-20.
ISSN
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. Retrieved
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.
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"Ukrainian Parliament Votes in Favor of Bill to Ban Churches Affiliated with Russia"
.
Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty
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Chervonenko, Vitaly (19 October 2023).
"Рада дала старт заборон? УПЦ МП. Як ? коли це може запрацювати"
.
BBC News Укра?на
. BBC, Ukrainian service
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
a
b
Церковь, Укра?нська Православна Церква / Ukrainian Orthodox Church / Украинская Православная.
"Блаженн?ший Митрополит Володимир: "Пом?сна Церква в Укра?н? вже ?сну?"
"
.
archiv.orthodox.org.ua
. Archived from
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on 2011-04-30
. Retrieved
2007-08-16
.
- ^
"Open address of the Holy Synod of the UOC to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi"
.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
. 20 December 2022
. Retrieved
26 April
2022
.
- ^
"On the state and tendencies of expansion of the religious situation in government-church relations in Ukraine"
.
State Committee of Ukraine in Religious Affairs
(in Ukrainian). Archived from
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on 2004-12-04
. Retrieved
2008-01-12
.
- ^
d'Anieri, Paul J.; Kravchuk, Robert S.; Kuzio, Taras (22 October 1999).
Politics and Society in Ukraine
. Avalon.
ISBN
9780813335384
. Retrieved
2008-10-24
.
[
permanent dead link
]
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Rubin, Barnett R.; Snyder, Jack L. (1998).
Post-Soviet Political Order
. Routledge.
ISBN
9780415170697
. Retrieved
2008-10-24
.
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Pospielovsky, Dimitry (January 1998).
The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia
. St. Vladimir's Seminary Press.
ISBN
9780881411799
. Retrieved
2008-10-24
.
- ^
a
b
Ukraine's parliament passes bill on renaming UOC-MP
,
UNIAN
(20 December 2018)
- ^
Верховна Рада перейменувала УПЦ МП на РПЦ в Укра?н?
.
Рел?г?йна правда
(in Ukrainian). 2018-12-20. Archived from
the original
on 2019-09-14
. Retrieved
2018-12-20
.
- ^
"Ukraine passes law forcing Moscow-backed church to identify as Russian; fight erupts in parliament | KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice"
. 20 December 2018.
- ^
УПЦ МП п?д Радою влаштувала акц?ю проти перейменування церкви на РПЦ
.
Рел?г?йна правда
(in Ukrainian). 2018-12-20. Archived from
the original
on 2020-08-14
. Retrieved
2018-12-20
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Supreme Court of Ukraine rules in favor of Moscow Patriarchate
,
UNIAN
(16 December 2019)
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a
b
c
d
Valentina Romanenko (27 December 2022).
"The Constitutional Court recognized the constitutional law, which obliges the UOC of the MP to indicate affiliation to Russia"
.
Ukrainska Pravda
(in Ukrainian)
. Retrieved
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2024
.
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a
b
c
d
"Глава X. Украинская Православная Церковь"
.
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(in Russian). Archived from
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.
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"XI. Автономные Церкви"
.
mospat.ru
(in Russian). Archived from
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(PDF)
.
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2023
.
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.
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2023
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"Statute on the governance of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Khmelnytskyi Diocese of the UOC)"
.
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. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
ЖУРНАЛЫ заседания Священного Синода от 19 марта 2014 года
// ЖУРНАЛ № 1: ≪2. Включить в состав Священного Синода на правах постоянного члена митрополита Черновицкого и Буковинского Онуфрия, <…> с определением по протокольному старшинству места, занимаемого Блаженнейшим митрополитом Киевским и всея Украины ? первым среди архиереев Русской Православной Церкви.≫
- ^
a
b
c
d
(in Russian)
Статус епархий в Крыму остался неизменным, заявили в УПЦ Московского патриархата
NEWSru
, 10 March 2015.
(in Russian)
The Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate demanded the return of the Crimea
RBK Group
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a
b
c
d
e
f
g
"Симферопольская, Джанкойская и Феодосийская епархии приняты в подчинение Патриарха и Синода Русской Православной Церкви и вошли в состав учрежденной Крымской митрополии / Новости / Патриархия.ru"
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a
b
c
(in Ukrainian)
?парх?? Укра?нська Православна Церква
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a
b
c
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"Иона Черепанов"
.
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.
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Переход Киевской митрополии к РПЦ в XVII веке был абсолютно законным, попытки оспорить это нельзя воспринимать всерьез - богослов
Interfax
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Khomenko, S., Denysov, M.
Constantinople: Moscow Patriarchate does not exist in Ukraine any longer (Константинополь: Московського патр?архату в Укра?н? б?льше нема?)
. BBC Ukraine. 2 November 2018
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RIA Novosti
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"У результат? обстр?л?в на Ки?вщин? загинуло тро? людей, шестеро ? постраждали, зруйновано ?сторичну пам'ятку арх?тектури"
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"The UOC punished the archimandrite of the Pechersk Lavra, who transferred to the OCU"
.
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(in Ukrainian). 29 March 2023
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29 March
2023
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"Ukraine imposes sanctions on 7 more representatives of Moscow-linked Ukrainian Church"
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(16 February 2023)
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"Russian passports found on Metropolitan Onufrii and over 20 other priests of Moscow-linked church"
.
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2023
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"Moscow-linked church denies that its leader and other priests hold Russian passports"
.
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"Onufriy assures that he has already gotten rid of his Russian passport, but does not say when"
.
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"Since the beginning of the year, 63 churches have transferred to the OCU, another 8,500 remain in the UOC MP"
.
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2023
.
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На Запор?жж? рос?йськ? ракети зруйнували церкву, де мала в?дбутися Великодня служба
[In Zaporizhzhia, Russian rockets destroyed the church where the Easter service was to be held].
Ukrinform
(in Ukrainian). 2023-04-16
. Retrieved
2023-06-29
.
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"Блаженн?ший Митрополит Онуфр?й звершив освячення мира у Феофан??"
.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
(in Ukrainian). 13 April 2023
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
"Vinnytsia terminated land lease agreements with the UOC MP"
.
Ukrayinska Pravda
(in Ukrainian). 28 April 2023
. Retrieved
28 April
2023
.
- ^
"Statistical data"
.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church
(in Ukrainian). Archived from
the original
on 2008-10-13
. Retrieved
2008-01-12
.
- ^
(in Ukrainian)
According to the church canons, the Crimea is the territory of Ukraine - the UOC-MP
,
Ukrayinska Pravda
(16 January 2019)
- ^
Metropolitan Onufriy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna elected head of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
,
Interfax-Ukraine
(13 August 2014)
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and religious organisations
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Members
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Former members
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- Odesa Association of Christian Churches
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