The Orthodox metropolitan of Kyiv was ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople since the establishment of the office. In 1686, this responsibility was transferred to the Patriarch of Moscow, therefore practically making the Orthodox church of Ukraine a part of the Orthodox church of Russia. Constantinople however still held the right to annul this transfer.
In 1700, Russian emperor Peter I didn’t permit the election of a new Moscow Patriarch, deeming the post detrimental to his authority. It was reinstated in 1917, and since then has been a clear political instrument of the Russian government.
In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople cancelled the 1686 transfer, and granted the church of Ukraine “autocephaly” (practically independence when it comes to Orthodox churches), by recognising the merger of some independent movements that had seceded from the Ukrainian branch of the Russian church as the legitimate Orthodox church over the lands of Ukraine. In response, Moscow Patriarch Kirill [severed official communion with Constantinople](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moscow%E2%80%93Constantinople_schism), and the struggle between Constantinople and Moscow over influence in the Orthodox world turned into open conflict.
So far, only Constantinople, Athens, Cyprus and Alexandria have recognised the Church of Ukraine, with the rest of the Orthodox world staying in the sidelines, not wanting to get into conflict with Russia, while also not severing communion with Constantinople.
In 2022, Patriarch Kyrill fully backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, deeming it a holy war (a concept foreign to the Orthodox church, not even being employed by the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages). It is time for the Orthodox people of Eastern Europe to realise that the Moscow Patriarch is a political tool, currently under control of Putin, that is trying to pervert the religion to exert Russian control over Orthodoxy, and pressure their national churches to finally take Constantinople’s and Ukraine’s side by recongnising the [Orthodox Church of Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church_of_Ukraine). I have most hope for Romania, whose population is overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine, while its church is trying to remain on Putin’s tool’s good side, with Patriarch Daniel and the rest of the high-ranking clergy not recognising the OCU.
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Some context:
The Orthodox metropolitan of Kyiv was ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople since the establishment of the office. In 1686, this responsibility was transferred to the Patriarch of Moscow, therefore practically making the Orthodox church of Ukraine a part of the Orthodox church of Russia. Constantinople however still held the right to annul this transfer.
In 1700, Russian emperor Peter I didn’t permit the election of a new Moscow Patriarch, deeming the post detrimental to his authority. It was reinstated in 1917, and since then has been a clear political instrument of the Russian government.
In 2018, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople cancelled the 1686 transfer, and granted the church of Ukraine “autocephaly” (practically independence when it comes to Orthodox churches), by recognising the merger of some independent movements that had seceded from the Ukrainian branch of the Russian church as the legitimate Orthodox church over the lands of Ukraine. In response, Moscow Patriarch Kirill [severed official communion with Constantinople](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Moscow%E2%80%93Constantinople_schism), and the struggle between Constantinople and Moscow over influence in the Orthodox world turned into open conflict.
So far, only Constantinople, Athens, Cyprus and Alexandria have recognised the Church of Ukraine, with the rest of the Orthodox world staying in the sidelines, not wanting to get into conflict with Russia, while also not severing communion with Constantinople.
In 2022, Patriarch Kyrill fully backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, deeming it a holy war (a concept foreign to the Orthodox church, not even being employed by the Byzantine Empire in the Middle Ages). It is time for the Orthodox people of Eastern Europe to realise that the Moscow Patriarch is a political tool, currently under control of Putin, that is trying to pervert the religion to exert Russian control over Orthodoxy, and pressure their national churches to finally take Constantinople’s and Ukraine’s side by recongnising the [Orthodox Church of Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Church_of_Ukraine). I have most hope for Romania, whose population is overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine, while its church is trying to remain on Putin’s tool’s good side, with Patriarch Daniel and the rest of the high-ranking clergy not recognising the OCU.