Church at War

Ukraine will soon have its own independent Orthodox church. Fueled by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the fact that the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church is closely aligned with the Russian government, the move could split the Eastern Orthodox world and, according to Moscow, have “catastrophic” consequences.

As a result of historical events and cultural differences between Eastern and Western Ukraine, the country has three separate Orthodox churches.

Most Orthodox parishes are still technically under the wing of the Moscow Patriarchate. Though called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it is an autonomous entity within the Russian Orthodox Church comprised of about 12,000 parishes – roughly one-third of all churches under the Moscow Patriarchate.