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Church leaders after the signing the "Tomos" decree today. MYKOLA LAZARENKO/PA Images

Ukrainian Orthodox church gains independence from Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church has cut ties following the move.

UKRAINE’S ORTHODOX CHURCH has been granted independence in a decree issued today. 

The Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch signed a formal decree confirming the creation of an independent Ukrainian church, marking a break with the Russian church that has angered Moscow.

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the leading authority in Orthodox Christianity, signed the decree known as Tomos at a ceremony in Istanbul.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko were on hand to witness the ceremony.

“Dear Ukrainians, this is a historic event. This is a great day.” Poroshenko said as he thanked the Orthodox patriarch.

“Once more, words of great gratitude in the name of the Ukrainian people, in the name of our nation to Your Holiness… It took us a very long time to get here.”

The Ecumenical Patriarchate first agreed to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in October. Then in December a historic council of Orthodox bishops in Kiev created the independent body.

The Russian Orthodox Church cut ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate in protest at the move, which dealt a huge blow to Moscow’s spiritual authority in the Orthodox world.

Vladimir Legoida, a spokesman for the Moscow church, denounced the decree as “a document that is the result of irrepressible political and personal ambitions”.

It had been “signed in violation of the canons and therefore not possessing any canonical force,” Legoida added in a statement.

Nikolai Balashov, another senior official for the Russian Orthodox Church, hit out at Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, saying that he had “ended the global Orthodox fraternity and permanently lost the right to be called a spiritual leader”.

The Ukrainian church’s new leader is Metropolitan Yepifaniy.

Yepifaniy, whose secular name is Sergiy Dumenko, has been a critic of Moscow’s religious influence in Ukraine and has supported Kiev’s army against pro-Russian rebels.

Ukraine and Russia have been at loggerheads since 2014 when Kiev street protests urging Ukrainian integration with Europe led to the ousting of pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych.

Russia subsequently annexed Crimea and has supported Russian-speaking separatists in Ukraine’s east, in a conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 people.

Regina Elsner, a research fellow at the Centre for East European and International Studies in Berlin, said recognition of the Ukrainian church’s independence was only the “first step on a long road”.

“We will have to see which Ukrainian bishops will join the new church and which other Orthodox churches will recognise it,” she added.

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    Mute Cal Mooney
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    Jan 5th 2019, 5:39 PM

    So the head of the new church supports military action. Sounds like a real peaceful religion alright. What could go wrong.

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    Mute Picture This
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    Jan 5th 2019, 5:44 PM

    @Cal Mooney: Mmm! Not only do religions support wars ,they have caused enough of them.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Jan 5th 2019, 6:18 PM

    @Cal Mooney: The head of the old Church supports Russian military intervention, so there’s not really much difference between them, is there?

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 5th 2019, 6:50 PM

    @Cal Mooney: and I don’t want to spam with the links I posted under some previous articles. Like picture of Russian priests baptizing a tu 22 strategic bomber with icon of Stalin in front of them. Video filmed by “Russian volunteers” shelling Ukrainian Army from the near by Orthodox monastery run by Russian church in Slavyansk Ukraine. They made that monastery theirs base as they knew Ukrainian Army would not shoot back. And when the place was recaptured UA found a video on one of the phones of killed “volunteer” with a mortar firing from around 10 m from the monastery and the monks were carrying shell to it. That video was an evidence that the monks completely and voluntary supported separatists. And guess what? Nobody from those monks was killed by UA or even arrested compare to those priests who were brining water to Ukrainian soldier’s and were killed by ROA https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Pentecostals_in_Slaviansk

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    Mute Pixie McMullen
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    Jan 5th 2019, 8:59 PM

    @Oleksandr Savitskyy: Anything to say about the near canonization of Stepan Bandera Ukrainan militia leader, the Nazi collaborator and murderer of Poles and Jews on Jan the 1st which is now going to be a national holiday? the one they held a torchlight procession for?

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    Mute The decline of Manchester United
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    Jan 6th 2019, 4:38 AM

    @Pixie McMullen: Cal and Pixie shilling for Putin again. Lol

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 6th 2019, 9:21 AM

    @Pixie McMullen: Is there mention of Bandera in the article above or in your previous comment? Was he a head of Church? So are you taking me off the subject?

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 6th 2019, 9:33 AM

    @Pixie McMullen: Answering question on current relations between Jews and Ukrainians. Our President is Jew.

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 5th 2019, 6:33 PM

    Have you heard about Russian Orthodox Army? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Army ” Along with other separatist groups in the region, the ROA has been noted of “kidnapp[ing], beat[ing], and threaten[ing] Protestants, Catholics, and members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church… as well as participat[ing] in anti-Semitic acts.”[4] In late November 2014, the group gained attention after abducting prominent Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest, Sergeii Kulbaka, and Roman Catholic priest, Father Pawel Witek.[5][6] . How can you not support Ukrainian Army in this case?

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    Mute Cal Mooney
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    Jan 5th 2019, 8:39 PM

    @Oleksandr Savitskyy: The Ukranian Orthodox church only started in the last 3 weeks and mainly in Kiev, away from the conflict area. So I call BS on your claims.

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 6th 2019, 9:24 AM

    @Cal Mooney: Learn the history. Go to Kiev and see Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Ask how old it is. You will find out that Moscow was built 250 years after the first monks built caves in Kiev.

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    Mute Cal Mooney
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    Jan 6th 2019, 9:47 AM

    @Oleksandr Savitskyy: That is very interesting, but doesn’t explain how the Russians have been attacking Ukranian Orthodox Priests when that church has only just been formed. What part of Ukraine are you from. Based in all the reports I have been getting, it’s the Ukranian army and Ukranian right wing militias that has been intimidating Russo-Ukranians and Russian Orthodox Priests who refuse to move to the new church. Any feedback on that?

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 6th 2019, 12:22 PM

    @Cal Mooney: “Based in all the reports I have been getting” :))). I have no doubts you got your reports from one famous “factory” . Can you please give me real names links etc . The way I Gove it to you.

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    Mute Oleksandr Savitskyy
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    Jan 6th 2019, 12:34 PM

    @Oleksandr Savitskyy: Intimidating ( mostly when majority of people say we don’t want you here anymore and abduction and murder is different isn’t it? BTW you again showing very shallow knowledge of Ukraine and religious matters. Before there were 3 different branches of Orthodox church. Autocefal Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarch and Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarch. The current tomos gives go ahead to form one church. Which will have all the rights. And it’s very normal in Orthodox world where is each country has own church like Georgian , Serbian etc . Orthodox churches.

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    Mute techman
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    Jan 5th 2019, 8:57 PM

    In Ukraine recently. Visited a Ukrainian monastery containing the bones of Ukrainian monks dating back over 1000 years. Ukraine has a rich religious history unsullied by the attempts of communist dictators to suppress it. Fair play to the Ukrainian people

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    Mute ÓDuibhír Abú
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    Jan 5th 2019, 9:57 PM

    @techman: The Maria laach Abbey, Benedictine Monastery.!!

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    Mute Isabel Oliveira
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    Jan 5th 2019, 11:43 PM

    This was leading news on rte radio , now here . Why ? And why are you talking about the Ukrainian governments as if they are paragons of democracy ignoring that they support neo Nazis , the Roma community persecution and killing inter alia ?

    You could also mention that what happened in the Ukraine in 2014 was s coup , by the west . We will see how the March elections go , if they go ahead that is .

    Again, why on earth is this news ? It seems like a press release by the disinformation , U.K. gov funded “integrity initiative “who has concentrated on this particular issue for 3 years or more .

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    Mute The decline of Manchester United
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    Jan 6th 2019, 4:44 AM

    @Isabel Oliveira: Unfortunately the Journal is flooded with pro Russian propaganda, know what I mean

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