Dispute over orthodoxy in Ukraine
The risks of an escalation in church policy
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Ukrainian leadership is pursuing the political and national goal of obtaining an autocephalous church in the country. Since the Patriarchate of Constantinople indicated that it was looking for ways to officially recognise autocephaly, a serious dispute has erupted with the Russian Orthodox Church. The conflict is having an explosive impact in terms of church policy and on a secular level. It is convulsing the church landscape in Ukraine and could lead to a schism in orthodoxy. If the autocephaly of a Ukrainian state church were to be recognised, this may result in conflicts over ownership of property with the Russian Orthodox Church and at a time when there is war in Eastern Ukraine, it may steer the Ukrainian church down an intransigent path.
(Osteuropa 8-9/2018, pp. 143–154)