Why Moscow's church broke with Constantinople over Ukraine
A look back at the Russian Orthodox Church's announcement of a rupture with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and what it added to the rift between Russia and Ukraine.
What did it mean when the Russian Orthodox Church announced, on 15 October 2018, that it would break communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople? It meant a dispute over church authority in Ukraine had become an open split within world Orthodoxy.
The trigger
On 11 October 2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople said it planned to recognise the autocephaly of two Ukrainian Orthodox Churches. Ukrainian leaders welcomed the move. The Russian Orthodox Church denounced it as "catastrophic".
Moscow's response
Four days later, on 15 October 2018, the Russian Orthodox Church said it would break communion with Constantinople. It also said it hoped Constantinople would change its mind, so that the schism could be avoided. The announcement therefore combined a concrete step with an appeal to reverse course.
What it added
The decision was reported at the time as an important new aspect of the rift between Russia and Ukraine. Until then, the disagreement had centred on the plans for Ukrainian autocephaly. With the announcement of 15 October 2018, it also involved a break in relations between the Russian church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The episode is known as the Schism of 2018. Its essentials were in place by 15 October 2018: Constantinople intended to recognise two Ukrainian churches as autocephalous, Kyiv's leaders backed the plan, and Moscow, while warning of catastrophe, chose to sever communion rather than accept it.
