Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ukraine's Many Churches
Today the country's sizeable Christian population is confusingly splintered into three
Orthodox churches and one major form of Catholicism.
In the 17th century, when Ukraine came under Russian rule, so did its Orthodox
Church. Even now, over two decades after independence, the largest Orthodox congrega-
tion in the country belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the former Ukrainian sec-
tion of the Russian Orthodox Church that still pays allegiance to the Moscow Patriarch.
There are also two smaller, breakaway Orthodox churches, which are both more 'Ukrain-
ian' in nature. Another Ukrainian Orthodox Church was formed in 1992 after independ-
ence to pay allegiance to a local Kyiv Patriarch. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Autocephal-
ous Orthodox Church, formed during the 19th century in western Ukraine and sup-
pressed by the Soviets, has bounced back since independence.
To complicate matters, another five to six million Ukrainians follow another brand of
Christianity entirely. In 1596 the Union of Brest established the Uniate Church (often
called the Greek Catholic Church). Mixing Orthodox Christian practices with allegiance
to the Pope, this essentially Catholic church was, and is, popular in the western part of
the country once controlled by Poland.
For the low-down from Tatars themselves on their history, culture and contemporary is-
sues, visit www.tatar.net .
Religious Rivalry
The two main Orthodox churches - Moscow Patriarchate and Kyiv Patriarchate - have
had territorial disputes in the past. The Ukrainian government's 1995 refusal to allow
Kyiv Patriarch Volodymyr Romanyuk to be buried inside Kyiv's St Sophia's Cathedral,
for fear of reprisals from Moscow, is a good example. They have since confined them-
selves to more low-level bickering about how many adherents each has.
Tensions between these two churches have been rising recently, especially as the Mo-
scow Patriarch Kirill has made several controversial visits to Ukraine since 2010. The
Russian-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church favours close ties with Russia and is very
closely aligned with the regime. All other denominations welcome stronger Western ties.
Other Faiths
Minority faiths include Roman Catholicism, Judaism and, among Crimean Tatars, Sunni
Islam. Ukraine's religious freedom means Evangelical, Buddhist, Jehovah's Witness and
neo-pagan communities have also emerged since independence from the atheist USSR.
 
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