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Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople has signed a decree granting autocephaly, or independence, to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, ending more than 330 years of Russian religious control in Ukraine. The ceremony on 05 January 2019 in Istanbul, which is considered the spiritual headquarters of Orthodox Christianity, was attended by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The decree, or "tomos," will now be handed over to the head of the new Ukrainian church, Metropolitan Epifaniy, on January 6, completing the two-day spiritual ceremony. The Russian Orthodox Church announced that it was ending its relationship with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in protest.

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill on the TV channel "Russia-1" shared his opinion that the new church structure - the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is an association of two groups of schismatics. “In the opinion of puppeteers and in the opinion of the President of Ukraine, this cathedral was supposed to unite everyone and create a single Orthodox church for all of Ukraine. And what happened? And it turned out that simply two schismatic groups have united,” the patriarch said. Earlier, the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, Irina Lutsenko, made a statement that after receiving a tomos about autocephaly, the main task of Ukrainian politicians is to prevent interfaith war.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced a historic church council agreed on the creation of an independent Orthodox church for Ukraine. Poroshenko told a crowd awaiting the council's decision in central Kyiv on December 15: "This day will go down in history as the sacred day of the creation of the Ukrainian Local Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The day we finally receive our independence from Russia."

On December 15, the Unification Council that took place in St Sofia of Kyiv elected the new Primate after the second round of voting. It is Metropolitan Epifaniy of Pereyaslav and Bila Tserkva of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate. The newly elected Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will hold the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

The issue of autocephaly [independence] of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is rendered a bit difficult to understand by the complexity of the matter, but largely by the unfamiliar and opaque terminology. In the West, particularly among some protestants and sucularists, the separation of church and state is a fundemental political principle. Such an idea is utterly alien to Orthodox Christianity, which believes, as do Muslims, that church and state are inseparably linked. Thus Russian orthodox church feels duty bound to uphold the Russian state [note the presence of the Moscow Patriarch at major public occasions], both in Russia, and in Ukraine.

The jurisdiction of each autocephalous Church (excepting the ancient Patriarchates and the Church of Cyprus, whose boundaries were established by Ecumenical Councils) is established and recorded in the tomos granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. When Ukraine was part of the Russian empire, and part of the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church in Ukraine was part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under the Chrisoboulo, which the Patriarchate of Moscow received in 1590 from Constantinople, the Metropolis of Kyiv was not included among her jurisdictions. The basic primary sources that exist are the 1686 letters of Ecumenical Patriarch Dionysius IV to Czars Ivan and Peter, and to Patriarch Joachim of Moscow. These letters clearly mention Constantinople granting Moscow permission to conduct the ordination of the Metropolitan of Kyiv.

At issue is whether the official "franchise" for Orthodoxy in Ukraine [in the form of a "tomos" or charter] is held by a branch of the Russian church, as has been the case for several centuries, or whether the Ukrainian church is independent [autocephalous], equal in standing with over a dozen other churches, such as those of Albania, Greece and Poland.

Senior Ukrainian Orthodox priests held a historic council on December 15 in a bid to form a new, unified, independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church and elect a leader, known as a primate. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate said on December 13 that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the "first among equals" in the global Eastern Orthodox faith, will hand over a "tomos" -- a decree granting autocephaly, or independence -- to the future head of the local Orthodox Church in Ukraine on 06 January 2019 [ie, new year's day by the Orthodox calendar]. The Moscow Patriarchate announced that its representatives will not attend the December 15 gathering. The Russian Orthodox Church called the council a failure because only two members of the church it supports in Ukraine had attended the meeting, according to Interfax news.

Metropolitan Epifaniy -- a 39-year-old bishop from the Kyiv Patriarchate -- was elected by the council to head the new church. On December 15, the Unification Council that took place in St Sofia of Kyiv elected the new Primate after the second round of voting. It is Metropolitan Epifaniy of Pereyaslav and Bila Tserkva of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate. The newly elected Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will hold the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. On January 23, 2012, by the decree of Patriarch Filaret, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. By the decision of the Council of Bishops of the UOC-KP from June 28, 2013, he was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and Bila Tserkva and was appointed patriarchal governor with the rights of the diocesan bishop. By the decision of the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP of December 13, 2017, he was conferred the title of Metropolitan of Pereyaslav and Bila Tserkva.

According to preliminary estimates, 192 delegates would attend the Unification Council, held on December 15, and they would elect a Primate in two rounds. From the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate, 42 archbishops will attend the Council, together with one priest and layman -- a total of 126 delegates. The Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church confirmed the participation of 12 bishops and each of them will take a priest and layman -- that is, 36 delegates. Participation of 10 bishops with a priest and a layman confirmed by the Moscow Patriarchate -- in total 30 people, a source noted. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew urged Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate and the Metropolitan Makariy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church not to run for the office of the Primate of the unified Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Ukraine has three Orthodox churches: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church [UAOC]. The Moscow Patriarchate, which has the most believers in Ukraine, remains loyal to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Kyiv Patriarchate declared independence from the Russian church in 1992, but that had never been recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The Kiev church, one of two breakaway groups, has in past years grown larger in membership then its Russian counterpart. The Moscow-loyal church controlled some 12,000 parishes, while the Kyiv Patriarchate boasted about 5,000 and the UAOC nearly 1,000. According to a poll released in mid-September 2018, of those polled who named themselves as Orthodox, 45.2 percent claimed allegiance to the Kyiv Patriarchate, while only 16.9 percent to the Moscow Patriarchate; 2.1 percent were for the UAOC and 33.9 percent were "just Orthodox," without a specific congregation.

Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who is considered the primus inter pares ["first among equals"] leader among Orthodox leaders, endorsed the Kyiv Patriarchate's request for autocephaly [independence] from Moscow. The Kyiv Patriarchate had not initially received the formal, final blessing to be autocephalous, or independent.

Presided by His All-Holiness, the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Holy and Sacred Synod convened for its regular session from October 9 to 11, 2018. The Synod decreed, "To renew the decision already made that the Ecumenical Patriarchate proceed to the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine. ... To accept and review the petitions of appeal of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletych and their followers, who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons,.... Thus, the above-mentioned have been canonically reinstated to their hierarchical or priestly rank, and their faithful have been restored to communion with the Church. To revoke the legal binding of the Synodal Letter of the year 1686, issued for the circumstances of that time, which granted the right through oikonomia to the Patriarch of Moscow to ordain the Metropolitan of Kyiv, elected by the Clergy-Laity Assembly of his eparchy, who would commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarch as the First hierarch at any celebration, proclaiming and affirming his canonical dependence to the Mother Church of Constantinople."

The Ecumenical Patriarchate decreed “proceed” to the granting of Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine. Nothing was said as to whom it will be granted, how this will be accomplished; and nor when this will happen. But by accepting and thoroughly reviewing the ekkliton appeals “of Filaret Denisenko, Makariy Maletych and their followers (who found themselves in schism not for dogmatic reasons)” the Ecumenical throne gave some indications as to who were canonically eligible to be part of this re-instated Metropolia. The initiative to reinstate the Kyiv Metropolia completely relies on Patriarch Bartholomew’s hands.

The Moscow Patriarchate was uncompromising in opposition to the Ecumenical Patriarchate's decision -- one spokesman for the Russian church called it "catastrophic," while another described it as an "attempt to distort history for political reasons". The move from Bartholomew prompted angry words from not only Russian church leaders, but also government officials. Reacting to the Russian Orthodox Church's announcement, the press secretary of the Kyiv Patriarchate said, “Patriarch Kirill has personally been an architect of the schism in the Ukrainian church since 1991" and that his conduct has "pulled all of Orthodox Christianity into conflict."

If a united Ukrainian Orthodox Church is eventually given a "Tomos," or document of autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a large number of individual churches in Ukraine could still continue to pledge loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church. Politicians in Ukraine have already drafted legislation that would rename the Moscow-loyal church as "the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine," a move that the church itself opposed and the Kyiv Patriarchate supported.

"This is an issue of our independence," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on October 11. "This is an issue of national security. This is an issue of our statehood. This is an issue of global geopolitics. This is the collapse of Moscow's centuries-old claims for global domination as the Third Rome."

The newly created religious formation on June, 25-26, 1992 named itself "the Kyiv Patriarchate" and acts in Ukraine under this name. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate is considered by the world Orthodox community to be a schismatic jurisdiction. It is headed the by "patriarch of Kiev and all Ukraine" Philaret - Mikhail Denisenko, formerly the Metropolitan of Kiev of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1992 he was defrocked by the Church for gross moral conduct and collaboration with the KGB. Archbishop Philaret took over the administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on May, 14, 1966 and was appointed full member of the Holy Synod of the ROC, Exarch of Ukraine, Archbishop of Kyiv and Galychyna. From October, 27, 1990 he was Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, independent and autonomous in its government - the Most Blessed Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine.

When the time of perestroika and glasnost came, and the society started to get free from the chains of militarism and KGB, Philaret was exposed among the first. "Metropolitan Philaret is a determined and despotic leader, an experienced politician, an unexcelled master of the political intrigue, who dismayed the corpse of archpriests rather than inspired respect... by his way of living and close relationship with the highest ranks of the Communist party was defenseless before criticism."[1]. The general public of believers and non-believers learned from the publications of Kyiv and Moscow about the private life of Metropolitan Philaret, which was far from monastic.

Holding office of Primate of the Ukrainian Church, Philaret by his personality discredited and defamed the whole Church. It was formulated in Statement 26 of the People's Deputies of the Supreme Rada of Ukraine on January, 20, 1992: "It is not a secret, but an achievement of publicity that it was Metropolitan Philaret who had closely connected his 30 year activity with agencies of KGB in order to please the power of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to serve the godless power not for the sake of the Church, but for the sake of his career and of the possibility to keep the Church of Ukraine in the hands of individual rule. All that distracts people from he Church, brings to naught the homiletic, missionary work of an honest priest, intensifies antagonism between confessions and promotes schisms.

"Our deputies' consciousness calls us to declare an obvious fact: Metropolitan Philaret (Denisenko) is an obstacle on the way of spiritual revival of Ukraine, of purification of the society from the diseases of stalinism, he must quit the office of Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, give it a possibility for keeping its unity, for correct self-expression in the new political situation, to feed the exhausted nation with pure faith and spiritual power."

The priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church accused Metropolitan Philaret of success of the Uniates in Galychyna, in the start and expansion of the autocephalous schism. Because of his rude and despotic governance of the Kyiv Metropolis lots of clergymen and laymen left the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, not wishing to experience the arbitrary rule of metropolitan of Kyiv and his civil wife. In summer of 1991 the bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky Ionafan (Eletskykh), Vicar and assistant of Philaret rendered the report to Patriarch's office about the conduct of Metropolitan, unworthy of the Archpriest's rank, and was deposed from priesthood for that. By the resolution of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church of June, 11, 1992 the former Metropolitan Philaret, charged of anti-ecclesiastical activity, was deposed from all his ranks and deprived of all rights concerning clergy membership. At the moment of holding the Consolidation Council he was a monk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, headed by Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr (Sabodan) since May, 28, 1992.

In October 1995 Philaret was elected "patriarch" of the UOC-KP. This event introduced into the life of the Orthodox Church the new disturbances. The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church held 23.02.1997 resolved: "to cut off monk Philaret (Mikhail Antonovich Denisenko) from the Christ's Church. Let him be anathema for all to see".

In his interview to the newspaper 'Day' (Den') of September, 15, 2001 M.A.Denisenko (the 'patriarch' of the UOC-KP) declared: "Solution of many important questions, such as "Do the two Ukrainian non-canonical Churches have episcopate or they do not?" depends on recognition or irrecognition of Philaret as Patriarch. Since irrecognition of "patriarch" Philaret automatically implies irrecognition of all the bishops he consecrated, and irrecognition of those these bishops consecrated in their turn. If they depose me from the Holy Orders, it will turn out that the Ukrainian priesthood does not exist (since they all are ordained by invalid bishops)."

In November 2009 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP) praised a decision of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to set up a working party to hold a dialogue between the two churches. "This decision shows that the words of representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate about a desire to overcome schism in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy are gradually nearing to real doings", the Press Center of the Kyiv Patriarchate quotes head of the Information and Publishing Department of the Kyiv Patriarchate Bishop Vasylkivsky Evstratiy (Zorya). The UOC KP Press Center suggests that the start of the dialogue could be very difficult, but it also could be fruitful. "Both we and UOC MP want that the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to unite. This goal - the unity of the church - serves a basis to launch the dialogue," he said.

At the same time, the Bishop said that there are different approaches to achieve the goal. "We see this unity through unification into the local, i.e. autocephalous, church. And the UOC MP said the unity should be reached within the Moscow Patriarchate, and then autocephaly". He also reported that the Kyiv Patriarchate will soon establish a similar working group. Ukrainian Orthodox Church is planning to start a dialogue with the UOC of Kyiv Patriarchate in order to resume unity in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Holy Synod at the Pochayiv Lavra monastery on September 9, which was chaired by Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine Volodymyr (Sabodan). The UOC press service said that a working group had been created and tasked to prepare for holding a dialogue with representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, which is considered among Orthodox believers as noncanonical.

On January 23, 2010, in the Kyiv residence of the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyivan Patriarchate (UOC-KP), a meeting of its synod was held. The hierarchs of the UOC-KP commented on the decisions passed at the session of the Inter-Orthodox Preparatory Committee in Shambezi (Switzerland) on December 10-16, particularly, regarding the question of autocephaly and autonomy and ways of their proclamation. In particular, the UOC-KP representatives stated that the settlement of such questions "in the absence of representatives of the national churches whose future directly concerns that question, particularly, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, is not in line with the spirit and tradition of the conciliar consideration of important questions of the life of the whole Orthodox Church."

By its resolutions, the Synod of UOC-KP once again stressed its unchanged position on the question of autocephaly, namely, that autocephaly is proclaimed by the council of the new autocephalous church if it has the appropriate grounds to do so, one of which is state independence of the nation in which the church serves. "The other national churches only recognize or not recognize the autocephaly of the new national church," read the resolutions of the Synod of UOC-KP. "The mechanism of proclamation of autocephaly proposed at the session of the committee in Shambezi is unrealizable and futile. The mechanism provides not the way of proclaiming a new autocephalous church but the way to not grant recognition to a church that seeks autocephaly for as long as possible," summarized the members of the synod.