What Constantinople's Ukrainian church plan meant by 13 October 2018
A look back at the reactions in Kyiv and Moscow after the Ecumenical Patriarchate signalled it would recognise two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches as autocephalous.
What was at stake in Ukraine's church question on 13 October 2018? Two days earlier, on 11 October 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople had said it planned to recognise the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches.
The response split along familiar lines. Ukrainian leaders welcomed the move. The Russian Orthodox Church denounced it as "catastrophic".
The dispute was reported at the time as part of a wider rupture, covered under the heading of the Schism of 2018 and set within Russia–Ukraine relations. By 13 October 2018, the positions of Kyiv and of the Russian Orthodox Church were already clearly stated, and the matter stood as one of open disagreement between them.
