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The head of global Orthodox Christianity has decided to grant Ukraine its own independent church of Russia's patriarchate, in a politically charged move that defies sharp warnings from Moscow.
The decision is a victory for Ukraine in a struggle against Russia that encapsulates Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and its continued support for separatists against Kiev in the east of the country. But it has been condemned by Christian officials, who has warned it threatens to trigger the biggest Christian schism in a millennium.
While both Ukraine and Russia share the same orthodox Christian roots that date back to 988, a new Kiev-based Orthodox church formed in the 1990s has seen its support swell since 2014, propping up longstanding efforts to attain canonical recognition as an independent Ukrainian church.
Thursday's decision, after a three-day synod chaired by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul, granted recognition to the leader of the breakaway church, the first step in a process of attaining independence from the Russian organization.
The synod also said it had revoked a 1686 ruling that gave the Moscow patriarch the power to ordain the church's head in Kiev.
"Our own church is a guarantor of spiritual independence," Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said after the announcement. He had lobbied hard for the church's recognition, betting that the achievement could boost his 2019 re-election chances.
Such a move has been opposed by Russian officials and the existing Ukrainian church operating under Moscow's patriarchy.
Patriarch Kirill, leader of Russia's Orthodox Church, is believed to be at war with the Istanbul-based patriarchate should recognize an independent Ukrainian church.
Russia accounts for a third of the world's 300m Orthodox followers. A break with Istanbul The Great Schism of 1054 Orthodox from the Western Roman Catholic traditions. Bartholomew responded to Moscow last month by saying: "We are not afraid of threats."
The Kremlin earlier on Thursday reiterated that it was against the decision and warned of dire consequences.
"Of course, we would not want any decisions taken that would lead to a deep split in the Orthodox world," Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The decision to bestow recognition on the Ukrainian church is a direct result of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea and its role in the four-year war in the country's east, and an example of how, even in the spiritual world, Mr Putin's Russia's global standing.
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Ukrainian orthodox church or remain loyal to the Russian Orthodox Church. A third of the Russian church's parishes are in Ukraine.
Russian-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine close to separatist enclaves backed by the Kremlin have the highest number of Moscow church followers. Ukraine's security agencies fear Russia will try to stoke division in this process to destabilize the country as domestic churches.
Kurt Volker, the US special representative for Ukraine, warned against impinging on violence in the country, and said any violence stemming from Thursday's decision would be "tragic".
"The Ukrainian people should be respected for their religious freedom and it is a shame that other countries would have a view to try that," Mr Volker told reporters ahead of the announcement.
