Russian Orthodox Church ′cuts ties′ with Constantinople | News | DW | 15.10.2018

Visit the new DW website

Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better.

Go to the new dw.com

We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

More info OK
  1. Inhalt
  2. Navigation
  3. Weitere Inhalte
  4. Metanavigation
  5. Suche
  6. Choose from 30 Languages
Advertisement

News

Russian Orthodox Church 'cuts ties' with Constantinople

Russia's Orthodox Church has severed ties with the Constantinople Patriarchate, the leader of the worldwide Orthodox community. The move comes after it granted independence to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Moscow.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the bishop in charge of the Russian Orthodox Church's diplomacy, told journalists in Minsk on Monday that "a decision has been made to break the Eucharistic communion with the Constantinople Patriarchate."

The move means priests from the two churches cannot serve together while worshippers of one cannot take communion in the other. 

It follows the Patriarchate of Constantinople's endorsement last week of Ukraine's request for an "autocephalous" (independent) church.

Read more: Ukrainian church wins independence battle against Moscow Patriarchate

Escalating dispute

A spokesman for Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said he hopes the dispute over churches in Ukraine will not lead to conflicts and clashes. 

Last week, Hilarion warned that parishioners will not hand over churches to a new Orthodox institution willingly, according to Russian news agencies cited by France's AFP agency. "Of course, people will take to streets and protect their sacred sites." 

First step towards independence

In September, Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople sent two bishops to Ukraine in what was said to be a step towards the formal recognition of an independent church there. The move will likely lead to two parallel Orthodox churches, one under the auspices of the Moscow church and the other under Constantinople.

Read more: Politics, powers, and struggle over Ukraine's Orthodox church

The Ukraine Orthodox Church has been part of the Moscow Patriarchate's orbit for hundreds of years. However, since Moscow's 2014 annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, many Ukrainian parishes have rejected the Kremlin-backed Moscow Patriarchate. Ukraine formed a separate church and had been pushing for its recognition. 

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to make independence from the Russian Orthodox Church a key issue as he plans a re-election bid in the 2019 Ukrainian presidential vote. 

  • Serbian Orthodox Christmas Eve ceremongy (picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. Vojinovic)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    'Badnjak' ceremony in Serbia

    A Serbian Orthodox priest attends the ceremonial burning of oak tree branches, or badnjak, on Christmas Eve outside the St. Sava church in Belgrade. The ceremony is accompanied by prayers and other rites and is widespread among Orthodox Christians in the Balkans.

  • Priest with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg Putin (picture-alliance/dpa/A. Nikolsky)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Putin attends mass

    Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a Christmas liturgy at a St. Petersburg church on January 6. Russia has the largest Orthodox population, which celebrates Christmas according to the Julian calendar.

  • Bagpipers in Bethlehem (picture-alliance/Photoshot)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Orthodox celebrations in Bethlehem

    Palestinian scout bagpipers perform ahead of Orthodox Christmas celebrations outside the Church of Nativity in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. The bagpipe-playing Christian scouts are a legacy of British colonialism in the Holy Land.

  • Orthodox Christians swimming in Istanbul (Getty Images/AFP/O. Kose)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Epiphany day in Istanbul

    Greek Orthodox men braved the cold waters of the Golden Horn in Istanbul to commemorate Jesus' baptism on Epiphany. In the ceremony, men jump from boats to fetch a cross thrown in the water. The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch is considered the leading church among nearly a dozen autocephalous Orthodox churches.

  • Bulgaria Orthodox Ephiphany celebrations in Kalofer (picture-alliance/NurPhoto/H. Rusev)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Epiphany in Bulgaria

    Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria commemorate the baptism of Jesus with Epiphany day celebrations. More than 7,000 people in the Bulgarian town of Kalofer sang and danced in and around the river Tundzha. Orthodox priests throw crosses into the river that are retrieved by men.

  • Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II (Getty Images/AFP/K. Desouki)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Egypt's el-Sissi supports Copts

    Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi (R) speaks next to Coptic Pope Tawadros II during a Christmas Eve mass in Cairo. Egypt's Coptic Christians have been under attack from Islamist militants, whom al-Sissi, a Muslim, has vowed to crush.

  • Greek Orthodox in Athen (picture-alliance/AA/A. Mehmet)

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Copts in Athens

    Coptic Christian women in Athens, Greece, celebrate Orthodox Christmas at a church. There are about 10 million Coptic Christians in Egypt, and an estimated 1 million spread across Africa, Europe and North America.

  • Ethiopian Orthodox Christians

    Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas

    Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia

    After Russia, Ethiopia has the second-largest Orthodox Christian population with nearly 36 million adherents. The Ethiopian Orthodox church was founded in the early 4th century when the Axumite Kingdom converted to Christianity.

    Author: Chase Winter


kw/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

DW recommends

What is the Orthodox Church?

After the Catholic and Protestant churches, the Eastern Orthodox Church is the world's third-largest Christian faith. As a rift between its Ukrainian and Russian branches deepen, DW looks at its history and beliefs. (21.10.2018)  

Advertisement