Ukraine’s independent Orthodox Christians may tear the country apart

(RNS) — After the first Ukrainian-language liturgy was celebrated at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy in central Ukraine on Thursday (Oct. 17), rival groups of Orthodox Christians clashed violently outside the church in a continuing skirmish between those loyal to the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church and supporters of the relatively new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The brawl, which is being investigated by police, comes in the wake of a law signed in August by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last month effectively banning the UOC because of its Russian ties. Though the law has been justified by credible evidence that a few UOC priests have been caught spying for Russia, it has also brought criticism in Ukraine and from abroad that Zelenskyy is impinging on Ukrainians’ religious freedom.

The clash in Cherkasy points to a more dangerous reality: It is not just about a single city or church, but an indication of the brewing domestic tensions in Ukraine that have the potential to boil over into a religious and ethnic conflict that would be in no one’s interest, least of all the Ukrainian people’s. 

Cherkasy’s mayor, Anatoliy Bondarenko, who announced his attendance at the Ukrainian-language service on Facebook, claims that St. Michael’s voluntarily decided to join the OCU, without government involvement. But pro-Russian outlets have characterized the violence outside St. Michael’s as a raid by pro-OCU forces. They have further claimed that the UOC Metropolitan Theodosius, the equivalent of a bishop in the Orthodox Church, was injured.

The reports include comments from Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling the transfer of the 24-year-old cathedral to the pro-Kyiv church “barbaric.” She called on international human rights organizations to investigate the incident.

Cherkasy, thanks in part to its mayor, has been ground zero for the friction between the two churches. In a now deleted video posted on Facebook in August 2023, Bondarenko said he would lead efforts to eliminate the UOC from the city, declaring, “Get ready — in Cherkasy, there will be no Moscow priests, in Cherkasy, people will pray in the Ukrainian language.” Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer working for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, cited the video as evidence that the mayor is “proud of this ethnic cleansing taking place.”

Just prior to the signing of the law banning the UOC, polling showed that approximately 63% of Ukrainians supported the prohibition. But the apparent consensus hides a more complex reality. The UOC is still the largest religious group in the country and still has over 2,000 parishes more than the OCU. Between the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022 and May 2024, only 685 parishes crossed over from the UOC to the OCU.

Not surprisingly, these instances have been mostly isolated to the Western half of the country (St. Michael’s Cathedral is a notable exception). In the eastern regions long claimed by Russia, there have been only three transfers, none in the frontline Kharkiv region.

The split along clear linguistic and geographic borders, however, presents a danger to the future of an independent Ukraine. A civil war driven by religion would be the culmination of a Russian strategy to “divide and conquer” the country, exploiting pre-existing divisions and creating sympathy for Russia.

The migration out of the Moscow-oriented church has inflamed passions among pro-Russian (or at least pro-Russian Orthodox) factions. The government’s ban has allowed the Russian Orthodox Church and its faithful to portray themselves as victims of persecution, in effect making real a false narrative that Russia has woven already to justify the invasion in the first place.

It is imperative that the Ukrainian government take action to relieve tensions and reassure UOC faithful, and Ukrainian Russophones in general, in Ukraine that their rights and freedoms are not in danger. When confronted with the evidence, no one can doubt that UOC officials have operated as Russian agents in some instances, but the vast majority of its clergy and laity remain loyal to Ukraine. It is the responsibility of the Ukrainian government to guard their rights, even as it seeks the nation’s security. That is, after all, the obligation of any government in a free and pluralistic society.

It is only in this way that the possibility of civil war in Ukraine can be put to rest. And that is good news for the future of Ukraine and the world.