What the Russian Church's break with Constantinople meant for Ukraine
A look back at the days around 19 October 2018, when church schism, a mass killing in Kerch and a fatal air crash shaped the news from the region.
What was the picture in the days leading up to 19 October 2018? Three reports, all from the preceding week, set the tone, and one of them pointed to a lasting division.
On 15 October 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church announced it would break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The step was a response to plans by Eastern Orthodox Church officials to recognise the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. Moscow said it hoped Constantinople would change its mind and so avoid a schism. As reported at the time, the move added an important new aspect to the rift between Russia and Ukraine.
The same day, a Ukrainian Air Force Su-27UB crashed in the Vinnytsia region during the international exercise Clear Sky 2018. Two pilots died: one a serviceman of the Ukrainian armed forces, the other from the US Air National Guard.
On 17 October 2018, a mass killing at a polytechnic college in Kerch left 20 people dead and about 50 injured.
Reading the church dispute
Of the three events, only the church announcement was framed as a change in relations between the two countries. It moved a disagreement over the status of Ukrainian Orthodox churches into a break between Moscow and Constantinople. The reports describe a declared intention by Moscow and a hope that Constantinople would reconsider; they do not describe a final outcome as of 19 October 2018.
The crash and the Kerch killing were reported as separate tragedies, with the human toll the central fact in each.
