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Why the Orthodox split mattered to Kyiv and Moscow
Summary
A look back at the church rupture that deepened the rift between Russia and Ukraine in October 2018.
What did it mean when the Russian Orthodox Church moved to break with Constantinople? By 17 October 2018, that question hung over relations between Moscow and Kyiv, two days after the announcement.
On 11 October 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople announced plans to recognise the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. Ukrainian leaders welcomed the move. The Russian Orthodox Church denounced it as "catastrophic".
On 15 October 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church announced it would break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Moscow said it hoped Constantinople would change its mind and so avert the schism.
A new dimension to an existing rift
As reported at the time, the rupture added an important new aspect to the rift between Russia and Ukraine. The dispute was no longer only a matter of politics and diplomacy between two states; it now also ran through the structure of the Eastern Orthodox world.
The positions were clear by 17 October 2018. Ukrainian leaders saw the Constantinople decision as something to welcome. Moscow's church regarded it as grounds for severing ties with Constantinople, while stating a hope that the step could still be avoided.
