ORTHODOXY IN UKRAINE: DYNAMICS OF TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGES, THEIR FACTORS AND RESULTS

Abstract

The article is dedicated to resolving a key issue in the spiritual-religious life of Orthodox believers in Ukraine – strengthening their independence from the Moscow Patriarchate and finding ways to unite two Orthodox church structures into a single autocephalous church. By analyzing the main factors contributing to this, it consequently reinforces Ukraine's national security and the spiritual unity of its people. Special attention is given to the mediating role of the state and other Orthodox churches in resolving the long-standing conflict within the Orthodox environment in Ukraine. The roots and evolution of the Orthodox split in Ukraine are revealed in the article, the destabilizing function of which had both objective origins – socio-political transformations in Ukraine after gaining independence and religious freedom, the absence of a unified value field, and subjective factors – intra-church disagreements and, most importantly, the instrumentalization of the church issue for political purposes by Moscow. The article illustrates the specifics of the church and social positions of the UOC hierarchs regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of dioceses in the occupied territories. In accordance with existing administrative-legal mechanisms of the state regarding religious organizations and based on the adopted law 8371 "On the prohibition of religious organizations in Ukraine associated with the aggressor country," a model for legitimizing the UOC is proposed. This model aims to contribute to the independence of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine from Moscow and the unification of Orthodox believers. According to this model, the information and ideological threat from Moscow, which uses the UOC to spread Kremlin narratives in the form of the so-called "Russian world," will be reduced.