ISTANBUL — An independent Ukrainian Orthodox church was created at a signing ceremony in Turkey on Jan. 5, formalizing a split with the Russian church it had been tied to since 1686.
Associated Press: Ukrainian Orthodox Church breaks away from Russian influence
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (C-L) and Metropolitan Epiphanius (C-R), the head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, pray during a ceremony for the signing of the "Tomos" decree of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church at the Patriarchal Church of St George in Istanbul on Jan. 5, 2019.
