Ukrainian authorities are investigating the country’s Orthodox Church’s ties to Russia, after noting how since the start of the Russian invasion on Feb.
“A Church cannot be based on fear, blackmail and manipulation, with no room for free will,” Iov Olshansky, abbot of the Holy Resurrection Monastery of New Athos, in Lviv, told Efe Agency.
His monastery was one of the first of about 600 parishes to leave the Moscow-linked organization since the start of the Russian invasion.
He points out that this number could be much higher, were it not for the fact that many were blocked by the priests themselves, against the will of parishioners and institution employees.
“Most of the priests in this church are pro-Russian,” says Olshansky. He emphasizes that its culture comes from Soviet times, when its very existence depended on close cooperation with Moscow authorities and secret services.
He hopes the political change will help achieve the country’s “spiritual independence”. About 72% of the population identify as Orthodox Christians, according to a July survey by Kiev’s International Institute of Sociology.
About 54% of Ukrainians say they belong to the Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which saw its influence increase in 2019 after the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted it independence.
Only 4% continue to identify with the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, compared to 18% in 2021. The rest, despite being Orthodox, do not identify with either church.
Despite the decline compared to 2021, the Church linked to Russia maintains a vast structure with thousands of parishes across the country.
Olshansky claims that despite the decision to “declare itself publicly independent” from Moscow, the latter remains deeply linked to that of Russia and spreads the Russian narrative in Ukraine.
Several priests from the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church have been accused of collaborating with pro-Russian officials in the occupied Ukrainian territories, something the church insists does not reflect its general position.
A first sentence of 12 years was handed down on Wednesday against his priest for revealing Ukrainian troop positions to the Russian army during the battle for Severodonetsk and Lisychansk.
Olshansky also claims that church leadership recently rose to a senior clergy position that banned priests who refused to mention the name of Russian Patriarch Kirill, loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their sermons.
Some reports that a song praising Russia was sung at a service at the Caves Monastery in Kiev, causing considerable uproar among the Ukrainian Security Service.
Metropolitan Kliment then highlighted, in an interview, that the Security Service did not find either Russian weapons or saboteurs allegedly infiltrated on the premises.
However, searches of Church facilities across Ukraine continued. Finally, on the 1st, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered an investigation into his alleged connections with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Zelensky also ordered a law prohibiting the activities of religious organizations linked to Moscow and issued personal sanctions against Vadym Novynskyi, a businessman of Russian origin and one of the most influential patrons of that Church in Ukraine.
An analysis by BBC News in Ukraine links the change in state policy to a change at the top of the country’s Security Service. Its previous boss, Ivan Bakanov, had openly identified himself as a member of the Moscow-linked Orthodox Church.
The current acting chief, Vasyl Maliuk, in his first interview after taking office in October, described the Church as an “ideal environment for enemy spies”. He also revealed that 33 of his priests were under investigation.
Olshansky Monastery is home to about 250 refugees from the eastern and southern regions, where the Church’s ties to Russia used to be strong. Now he is satisfied with the change in attitude: “They go back to the liberated territories and they no longer want to go to a church linked to Moscow”, the abbot told EFE.
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