It is impossible to understand the Russia–Ukraine conflict—or to envision a path to peace—without examining the ecclesiological dimension of relations between Moscow and Kyiv. Kyiv has been regarded as the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy since the tenth century, making religious authority and identity deeply intertwined with political power in the region. In Ukraine today, over 72 percent of the population identifies as Eastern Orthodox. For decades, Ukrainian Orthodoxy was largely structured around churches linked to the Moscow Patriarchate, which rejected any ecclesiastical separation from Kyiv. This arrangement was dramatically challenged in 2018, when Patriarch Bartholomew I established the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Although this church now claims the allegiance of more than half of Ukraine’s Orthodox believers, it has never been recognized by Moscow.
The outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022 marked a decisive turning point. In response to Patriarch Kirill’s open support for Russia’s invasion, the three branches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church previously linked to Moscow formally distanced themselves from the Russian Orthodox Church. They declared independence and rejected Moscow’s authority, a rupture that has profoundly reshaped the religious landscape of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.
These developments raise urgent questions for the present and future. What role can these churches play in stopping the conflict or mediating between the parties? Can faith transcend power politics and nationalist agendas to become a force for peace rather than division? Reset DOC’s new documentary by Filippo Macelloni, “The Russia–Ukraine Conflict and the Role of the Orthodox Church”, explores these questions by examining how religion, identity, and geopolitics intersect at the heart of Europe’s most devastating war.
Cover photo: A worshipper prays during an Orthodox Christmas service at the St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on January 7, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)
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