by Martha Serafini
Although Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7, December 25 remains a symbolic day given the religious divisions in the national church. Zelensky’s sanctions and the reason for independence from Moscow
Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7, but the Catholic tradition is particularly present and deeply felt in the Ukrainian capital and in the west of the country.
According to CNN, the Kiev government would have abolished the holiday on the 7th. In reality it is not so obvious, the matter is much more complicated. In the past, part of the Ukrainian Church even asked permission to celebrate the 25th, but never like this year, for obvious political reasons, the 25th has an important symbolic meaning, also given the split between the Orthodox Church from Kyiv and the Ukrainian, which, however, is equally divided internally.
The latest news about the war in Ukraine
In Ukraine, the church has led a fairly undisturbed life, unlike in Russia, where ties with the state have become strong after the fall of communism. But now apparently Zelensky – after the raids on the monasteries in search of spies – has decided to tighten control of the movements of the Church, especially that part which is still considered to be close to Moscow.
Relations are therefore strained. The Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church has asked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to lift sanctions against his representatives. The synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate published an official speech in Zelenskyy saying that these sanctions “have blocked the activities of entire dioceses”. According to church officials, “dioceses led by sanctioned clergymen serve tens of thousands of believers and provide extensive social and humanitarian assistance to the military, forced migrants and many other vulnerable segments of the population.” The Russia-affiliated church also called on Zelensky to block the passage of four bills restricting the church’s rights, calling them “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory.”
Zelenskyy signed a decree on December 2 approving a proposal by the National Security and Defense Council to ban the Russian-backed Ukrainian church. On December 1, the National Security and Defense Council instructed the cabinet to draft a law on such a ban. The bill is expected to be considered by the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament. Zelensky also sanctioned Vadym Novynsky, a former lawmaker in the pro-Russian opposition bloc and promoter of the Moscow-backed church; Pavlo Lebid, head of Kiev’s Pechersk Lavra of the Russia-affiliated church and former MP for the pro-Russian Party of Regions, and Rotyslav Shvets, a bishop who in June “annexed” his Crimean diocese to the Russian-backed Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Church Russian Orthodox. Sanctions were also imposed on several other Moscow Patriarchate bishops in Ukraine’s Crimea and on a bishop who in October annexed his diocese in Russian-occupied parts of Lugansk Oblast to the Russian Orthodox Church. Since November, Ukraine has been conducting nationwide raids on Russian-controlled church religious sites where authorities say they have found Russian passports, anti-Ukrainian propaganda and a collection of stolen icons. In May, the Moscow-affiliated Church of Ukraine said it would have “complete independence” from the Russian Orthodox Church in response to criticism from Russian-backed church leaders during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian branch also stated that it “condemns the war” and “disagrees with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on the war in Ukraine”.
However, skeptics said this was just a ploy to appease critics, as the Ukrainian branch effectively remained part of the Russian Church and did not declare “autocephaly” – the Orthodox term for true independence. According to Orthodox rules, there can only be one independent or “autocephalous” church in any given country. Under Orthodox rules, the full independence of the Russian-backed church would imply its merger with the Independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine, but the Moscow-affiliated church has resisted such a merger.
December 25, 2022 (Modified December 25, 2022 | 10:27 am)
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