Patriarch’s 10-day visit is aimed at reasserting Moscow’s dominance over the nation's Orthodox followers, many of whom would prefer to belong to a church independent of Moscow.
Russian Patriarch Kirill’s visit to Ukraine has highlighted just how divided and politicized Orthodox Christianity is in the nation. Kirill’s 10-day visit, which ends Aug. 5, sought to emphasize the supremacy of the Orthodox religion and the need for Ukrainian believers to unite under the church he leads.
The Russian patriarch met with President Victor Yushchenko, who wants Ukrainian Orthodox believers to unite in a single church under the Kyiv patriarchate, which separated from Moscow after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Yushchenko has sought backing from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, the spiritual leader of the word’s 250 million Orthodox faithful, but has not gotten a clear response. The Moscow patriarchate and Kremlin leaders are tugging in the other direction, as they are try to retain religious and political influence in Ukraine.
Kirill also told Yushchenko that he wants church unity – as long as the Orthodox faithful unite under the Moscow branch. “This church exists, Mr. President. There is a local church in Ukraine, and had it not been for it, there would be no independent Ukraine today,” he told Yushchenko on July 27.
Kyiv is the “southern capital of Russian Orthodoxy” and “common Jerusalem” for all Orthodox people in Russia and Ukraine, Kirill said.
“There is no imperialism in it, no supremacy of some over others … the patriarch is the father of all, regardless of the color of passport in their pockets,” Kirill said in one of his speeches in Kyiv. He then moved on to Donetsk, Crimea, Rivne, Volyn and Ternopil Oblast.
More than 50 percent of Ukrainians identify themselves as Orthodox Christians, according to surveys. But unanimity ends there. There are several Orthodox denominations, including Kirill’s loyalists of the Moscow Patriarchate and the canonically unrecognized but influential Kyiv patriarchate. Each has comparable shares of those who consider themselves religious in Ukraine, according to a 2008 study by the Academy of Sciences Sociology Institute.
Additionally, the minority Autocephalous Orthodox Church exists. So do Greek Catholics, who practice Eastern Rite rituals but recognize the leadership of the Roman Catholic pope. Greek Catholicism is especially popular in western Ukraine.
Still, the thousands who flocked to hear Kirill clearly viewed him as their spiritual leader. They greeted his speeches with applause and happy tears.
“He came to unite the nation. We all in Ukraine and Russia are Slavs historically sharing one religion and values,” said Nina Tolochko, who belongs to the Moscow-loyal church in Ukraine. She came to see the patriarch at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra on July 29.
But many others disagree, in part citing the Moscow church’s historic subservience to the Russian state. Patriarch Filaret, head of the unrecognized Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate, led a procession of several hundred followers on June 28 to protest against Kirill’s visit. “He visits his flock to influence it and Ukrainian state through it and our society,” Patriarch Filaret said.
“The Russian patriarch must understand that he is a guest in Ukraine. He must respect the state’s independence and position of Ukraine’s people,” said Olena Romanyuk, who defines herself as orthodox of the Kyiv Patriarchate church.
Kirill refused to meet Filaret to discuss mending the split between the two churches. Victor Yelenskiy, theologian and professor of Institute of Philosophy of Ukraine’s Academy of Sciences, said politics prevents the dialogue.
“Kirill is doing for the Russian Orthodox Church the same that [Vladimir] Putin does for Russia,” Yelenskiy said. He would “never agree to lose influence over Ukraine’s Orthodoxy.” While Yushchenko plays to the idea of a national Orthodox church, other politicians – such as Party of Regions leader Victor Yanukovych – demonstrate support for Kirill.
“This is a convenient issue for communicating with voters on the basis of friend-or-foe division principle,” said Volodymyr Kornilov, the director of CIS Countries Institute branch in Ukraine.
