Ukrainians shun Moscow Patriarchate as Russia’s war intensifies in Donbas

By August, the priest was gone — driven out by villagers who invited a priest from the Kyiv Patriarchate, an autonomous Ukrainian religious body that opposes the Moscow Patriarchate, to take over.
Such transitions have been taking place all over the nation ever since the Kremlin invaded, then annexed Crimea, and instigated a war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

Many Ukrainians have switched denominations, moving away from the Moscow Patriarchate that is very close to the authoritarian President Vladimir Putin.

In a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center think tank in April 2014, 22.4 percent of Ukrainians then considered themselves parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate — up from 18.3 percent just a year earlier.

At the same time, the number of parishioners claiming allegiance to the Moscow Patriarchate dropped in 2013-2014 from 19.6 percent to 17.4 percent of population.

In adopting the Kyiv Patriarchate, Ukrainians are choosing a church that is not officially recognized among the world community of Orthodox denominations. It separated from the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1992, a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The church’s unofficial status doesn’t seem to bother its followers, who choose a pro-Ukrainian church led by Patriarch Filaret over the official one.

Unlike the Kyiv Patriarchate Orthodox Church that openly supports the Ukrainian army and volunteers fighting in the east with public statements and generous donations, the Moscow Patriarchate prefers to distance itself from the situation, upsetting some parishioners.

An example of the church’s notions that repel part of its flock was a statement by Metropolitan Onufriy, the head of Moscow Patriarchate Church in Ukraine. In an interview posted in August on his church’s website, he condemned the government’s anti-terrorist operation against the Russian-backed separatists in Donbas, calling it “a fratricidal war.”

His colleague, Archbishop Mytrofan, head of the Horlivka and Sloviansk Eparchy which is located in the war zone in Donetsk Oblast, condemned priests who help Ukrainian soldiers buying helmets or bulletproof vests.

“The church shouldn’t be involved in anything related to war. Our spiritual children are on both sides of the conflict. And if we buy bulletproof vests for one side than we have to buy them for another side too,” Archbishop Mytrofan said in an interview to the website Pravoslavnaya Zhyzn (Orthodox Life) published on Oct. 12.

The religion experts say that the Kyiv Patriarchate will continue to gain new supporters because of its support for Ukraine.

“The reason is that the Moscow and Kyiv patriarchates offer different models of cultural and civilization development. Not all Ukrainians want to be a part of the so-called ‘Russian World’,” says religion expert Olha Nedavnya, referring to the pan-Slavic idea promoted by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Some Ukrainian priests of the Moscow Patriarchate promote the “Russian World” concept too. The villagers of Pasichna, a village in Kyiv Oblast, were displeased because their priest Serhiy Kushnir espoused Russian views of the war and tore down Ukrainian flags that they hung on their houses. During a church service, he tried to convince the attenders that Ukraine should be part of Russia, the villagers say.

“People in our village want to attend a national Ukrainian church. We hope that in the nearest future a priest from the Kyiv Patriarchate will serve the divine service,” says Pasichna resident Liubov Kushch.
Kushnir couldn’t be reached for a comment. His superior Antoniy, a metropolitan of Boryspil and Brovary Eparchy, denied that Kushnir espoused anti-Ukrainian views, calling such talk slander. “All the priests of our church are patriots,” Metropolitan Antoniy told Kyiv Post.

As of January the parish in the village still belonged to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Kyiv Patriarchate claims that some 30 parishes around the country have already converted from Moscow to Kyiv Patriarchate. Yet, the Moscow Patriarchate denies the trend and accuses opponents of seizing 14 parishes in Ukraine. They acknowledge that three parishes switched allegiance voluntarily.

“The illegal seizure of churches by means of violence and fraud cannot be called a transition,” Metropolitan Antoniy, the chief of administrative services of Moscow Patriarchate said in a comment to the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN on Dec. 12.

The Kyiv Patriarchate denies the accusations.

“We don’t need to capture churches because they are ours due to the fact that they are located on Ukrainian territory. Our main goal is to unite into the only autonomous Orthodox church, independent from Moscow and Constantinople,” Patriarch Filaret said during a visit to Chernihiv on Dec. 7.

Kyiv Post staff writer Nataliya Trach can be reached at [email protected]