Ukraine church handed independence decree
Print Edition
The spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians yesterday presented the head of the Ukrainian church with a decree granting it independence from Moscow, a historic split strongly opposed by Russia.
Ukraine sees the break as vital to its security and independence, but it is bound to aggravate the wider conflict between the two countries.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who signed the autocephaly decree on Saturday, handed the document to Ukrainian Metropolitan Epiphanius at St George鈥檚 Cathedral in Istanbul after a mass to mark the feast of Epiphany.
鈥淯nity has been restored. Now we are united,鈥 Epiphanius told the congregation, standing with Bartholomew at the front of the crowded church, both wearing ceremonial robes and holding staffs.
The 39-year-old Epiphanius was chosen to head the new church last month.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who was at the event, compared the development to Ukraine鈥檚 referendum for independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russia bitterly opposes the split, comparing it to the Great Schism of 1054 that divided western and eastern Christianity.
鈥淲e ask you, mother church and all churches to pray for peace in Ukraine,鈥 Epiphanius said, adding Ukrainian people had been suffering for five years from a war 鈥渂rought from outside.鈥
The patriarchate, the seat of the spiritual leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, endorsed Ukraine鈥檚 request for the new church in October.
鈥淕od has heard our prayers,鈥 Poroshenko said in an address on Ukrainian television after the handover of the decree, or Tomos. 鈥淭omos for Ukraine is actually another act of declaring the country鈥檚 independence.鈥
The pro-Western Poroshenko lobbied hard for the church鈥檚 creation. He faces a tight election race in March and it may give him a boost.
He will take part in a service in Kiev today at the St Sophia Cathedral, now a museum only used for major religious events. The decree will be displayed at the cathedral for the public to view from today.
Religious divisions deepened in Ukraine after 2014 and two Orthodox factions vie for dominance.
Moscow Patriarchate, aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, sees itself as the only legitimate church in Ukraine.
The rival Kiev Patriarchate favors European integration and championed the independent church but the Moscow Patriarchate denounces it as schismatic.
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