Kateryna Białobrzeska
Wschodnioznawstwo (Eastern Studies), Volume 17, 2023, pp. 379-394
https://doi.org/10.4467/20827695WSC.23.022.18740Due to the largest number of Orthodox parishes in Ukraine compared to the post‑Soviet countries, Russia strives to maintain its influence there by all means through the functioning of the UOC MP, and religious conflicts have become an inseparable element of Ukrainian reality. There is a long‑term conflict between the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate. Due to the propaganda of hatred against the UOC PK, and later KPU, parishioners of the UOC PM name people who attend masses in KPU dissenters and „strays”, and the church itself – non‑canonical, even after obtaining the tomos in 2019. On the other hand, supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine nominate the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as an instrument of Russia’s propaganda policy. The Russo‑Ukrainian war reopened discussions about the status of the UOC PM in Ukraine.