What did Ukraine's new Orthodox church mean on 16 December 2018?
A look back at the day after President Petro Poroshenko declared the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, separate from the Russian Orthodox Church.
What did Ukraine's public life look like on 16 December 2018? It was the first day after President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko declared the establishment of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, on 15 December 2018.
The new church was described as a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, separate from the Russian Orthodox Church. Ukrainian clergy had elected Metropolitan Epiphanius I as its head, and the president's declaration followed that election. The events formed part of what became known as the 2018 Moscow–Constantinople schism.
For a review of governance and public institutions, the notable point is that the head of state publicly declared the founding of a church body, a step that placed a religious institution at the centre of national attention.
Elsewhere in Ukrainian public life, a few days earlier, on 10 December 2018, fencer Olha Kharlan won the overall standings of the 2017–2018 Sabre World Cup, a result that gave the country a separate moment of sporting recognition.
