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Kyiv's parliament hands St Andrew's Church to Constantinople
Summary
A retrospective on a parliamentary decision taken three days after Moscow's church announced a break with the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
What did Ukraine's parliament decide on 18 October 2018, and why did it matter in the middle of a church dispute? The Verkhovna Rada adopted a decision to transfer St Andrew's Church to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The vote came three days after the Russian Orthodox Church announced, on 15 October 2018, that it would break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. As reported at the time, the move was a response to plans by Eastern Orthodox Church officials to recognise the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches.
Moscow said it hoped Constantinople would change its mind and so avoid a schism. The announcement was described as a new aspect of the rift between Russia and Ukraine.
Against that background, the Rada's decision on St Andrew's Church placed the building in the hands of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the same body at the centre of the dispute with the Russian Orthodox Church.
