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A schism is preparing for orthodox Christians.
The leaders of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, historically the most influential center of the World Orthodox Church, have recently taken several administrative steps to confer ecclesiastical independence – also known as autocephaly – to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is currently under the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church. This decision came after years of increasing tension in Ukraine over the status of his church following the occupation of Crimea by Russia.
In response, the Russian Orthodox Church announced Monday following a synod or a gathering of bishops in Minsk that it would sever all ties with Constantinople. This action would prevent Russian Orthodox faithful from taking part in sacraments, such as communion or baptism, in non-Russian Orthodox churches around the world.
"We hope that common sense will prevail, that the Patriarch of Constantinople will change his attitude to the reality of the existing church," said Russian Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of foreign affairs of the Russian church , following the synod.
The Russian Orthodox Church is one of the most influential churches in the Orthodox world. Its 150 million members represent about half of the Orthodox Christians in the world. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union (officially atheist) in the 1990s, it has also become increasingly powerful politically. In recent years, the alliance of the Russian Orthodox Church with the nationalist government of Vladimir Putin has essentially made a form of Russian ideological soft power, the church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, often serving as a spokesman for the Russian nationalist ideology.
In this case, tensions over the status of the Ukrainian Church directly reflect the wider political situation: a conflict that has erupted since Russia's annexation of the former Ukrainian Crimean coastal region into 2014. Tensions have been observed regarding the role of the Church in Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union – unrecognized independent dissident churches have existed since 1992 – the situation in Crimea has galvanized conflicts among Orthodox faithful, for whom the identity of the church and the national identity are closely linked.
For the Russians and the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Church is a symbolically important part of the Russian Orthodox community, not least because some believe that the city of Kiev is the cradle of the Russian Orthodox tradition. Ukrainians account for up to 40% of the current Russian Orthodox Church and tend to attend offices twice as fast as their Russian neighbors.
For Ukrainians, however, the promise of autocephaly represents both a spiritual and symbolic liberation from Russian influence. The Ukrainian Church has been subject to the Russian Church since 1686, a few decades after the territory came under Russian political control. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko recently told reporters that an autocephalous Ukrainian church was "a problem of Ukrainian national security. It is a question of Ukrainian state ".
An autonomous Ukrainian church would also defeat Putin's efforts to make Russia a "third Rome": the heart of a religiously and ethnically united Christian empire, heir to Rome and Constantinople. He notably asked state representatives to read Russian religious philosophers such as Nikolai Berdyaev and Ivan Ilyin, two thinkers known for their support for a united Russian Christian empire. He also edited photos for himself at centers of Orthodox Christianity, such as Mount Athos in Greece, where the Russian media was gasped, albeit slightly inaccurate, to sit on the traditional throne. Byzantine emperors. (The historic chair in question was actually designed for the guests of honor.)
If a compromise is not reached, the schism could be one of the most important of the past millennium, influencing the religious and political landscape of Eastern Europe.
If the Russian Orthodox Church eventually separated completely from Constantinople, this would represent the most significant break in the Eastern Church since 1054 AD. But the use of national churches as proxies in the context of broader political tensions goes back as long as, if not longer.
The current crisis of the Ukrainian Church is the most serious of the last 1000 years
The Orthodox Church was formed in the eleventh century following a schism of the current Roman Catholic Church, after the tension reached its peak between the bishop of Rome (the pope) and the bishops of the capital of Rome. more and more powerful of Constantinople, of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine). While the technical cause of this schism resided in disagreements around theology, politics played a role, as Eastern bishops sought to distance themselves from the sphere of influence of their Western counterparts.
Today, about 12% of the world's Christians (nearly 300 million people worldwide) are Orthodox. They belong to one of 14 country-centric churches – such as the Greek Orthodox Church or the Russian Orthodox Church – in communion with each other. The existence of an autocephalous Ukrainian church would increase this number to 15.
While two rival Ukrainian churches claiming autocephalous status currently exist in Ukraine, none have been recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople unless last week. If complete autocephaly were granted, these dissociated churches would probably be merged, with the Ukrainian church recognized by Constantinople and dominated by Moscow, into one body.
If it is unlikely that a contemporary schism has the same upsetting global effects, the modern conflict around Ukrainian autocephaly concerns, just like the schism of 1054, as much the territory and the l & # 39; influence as theology.
Technically, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, because of his status as "first among his peers," can render the Ukrainian Church autocephalous without the participation or approval of Russia. Last week, Patriarch Bartholomew took several steps towards the independence of the Ukrainian Church, notably by revoking the decree of 1686 giving Moscow power over Kiev, but he did not still took the initiative to produce the formal edict intended to finalize this decision.
The crisis of the status of the Ukrainian Church is not the first time that the promise of autonomy of an old Russian territory threatens relations between Russia and Constantinople. In 1996, the Russian Orthodox Church briefly broke with Constantinople on the fate of the Estonian Church, which also sought independence. (In the end, a compromise was found and two parallel churches – one under Moscow and one autocephalous – now exist in this country.) However, the controversy over Ukraine is much more important politically, both because that the country is much bigger and because of the conflict reflects the wider territorial tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
It is unclear whether Russia will insist on its position again. While Russia called for support for the remaining 12 Orthodox Orthodox churches against Constantinople, it did not ask them to break directly with Constantinople. However, the Serbian Church – Russia's longtime ally – has already shown support for Russia.
But until now, the Russian Church has shown no sign of failure. A representative of Patriarch Kirill said at a press conference last week that Bartholomew's dismissal of the 1686 amendment "crossed the red line" and was "catastrophic" for the Orthodox world.
Until now, its consequences remain to be seen.
