Orthodox Church of Ukraine Regains Independence, Kremlin Concerned

Op-Ed

The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has regained its independence after a five-century termination, with the Patriarchate of Constantinople having recognized the autocephaly, thus igniting a start to the new Orthodox world order. The Orthodox churches of Macedonia and Montenegro are to follow, or it could be Moldova joining the Romanian Church. Maybe the Belorussian Church will also want autocephaly, but probably not under the rule of President Lukashenko.

One country, one autocephalous church – this is the approach of Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church, quite different from that of the Patriarch of Russia, who believes that the Churches in the countries where the Russian troops are should be under his rule. Seems the period we saw prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union is repeating itself. At that time the politbureau was against the independence of the republics for the exact same reason. Other analogies would be how, for the same reason, Moscow is blocking the process of NATO membership for the post-Soviet countries; as Georgia and Ukraine were promised they would enter NATO, Ukraine was promised it would get autocephaly and historical justice would be restored.

Unlike the NATO officials, Bartholomew I of Constantinople displayed principle will and Ukraine did succeed in regaining its autocephaly. The fact that this is a new geopolitical catastrophe for the Kremlin is obvious: President Putin has gathered a security council on the issue and the case of Ukraine’s autocephaly was discussed by the Prime Minister, Chairman of the Federation Council, Secretary of the Security Council, Ministers of Internal and Foreign Affairs, Defense Minister, as well as the Head of Federal Security Service and Director of Foreign Intelligence Services. Whew! This assemblage shows that it is more than a random case, in fact a very important case for the Kremlin, as it threatens the downfall of the idea of a “Russian World.”

The geopolitical doctrine of the Kremlin, which collapsed together with the Soviet Union and was resurrected by Vladimir Putin, has clashed into a barrier for the first time. Clearly, the Kremlin has lost its debut and Bartholomew I has gained a tempo and an advantage. Although the whole game is ahead, what matters is for whom and of what value is the checkmate. Now is the time for the choice of the Orthodox Churches on recognizing the decision of the World Patriarch. If we recall the boycott that took place during the Council of Crete, obviously Moscow is in the minority, as only four Orthodox Churches rejected the invitation, with the churches of Russia, Antioch, Bulgaria and Georgia refusing to participate.

How Russia will try to increase its number of supporters is hard to tell as they would need the support of a minimum of eight churches. Perhaps this explains the two-week visit of Metropolitan Ilarion, the head of international relations of the Russian Church to Alexandria on November 15, Antioch on November 17 and Cyprus on November 19. On November 29, the Russian Church transferred a solid amount of money to the Atiochian Patriarchate for the restoration of demolished churches in Syria. Parallel to the Metropolitan’s visit, the Russian Church representatives visited Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A lengthy tour took place to the Orthodox Church of the US. Metropolitan also visited Georgia. The representatives of the Russian Church all had a single advice-demand: to deny the autocephaly of Ukraine and condemn the decision of the World Patriarch. “The power of Patriarch Bartholomew is threating the Orthodox world with destruction,” preaches Russia.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople consists of eparchies of six archbishops, eight churches and 18 metropolitans, two out of the said eight, that is the Finnish and Estonian, are autonomous. Bartholomew I of Constantinople has the historical status of “The first among equals” within the Orthodox Christian community: whatever the length of the tours planned in Moscow, the consistency and principality of the World Patriarch has only increased his authority.

By Zaza Jgarkava

Image source: Mikhail Palinchak, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Pool Photo via AP