Religion and Politics

The Eastern Orthodox Churches May Split. It’s the Biggest Crisis for These Churches in Centuries.

Vox’s Tara Isabella Burton reports, “Leaders within the Constantinople Patriarchate, historically the most influential center of the global Orthodox Church, recently took several administrative steps toward granting ecclesiastical independence – also known as autocephaly – to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is currently under the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church.” The Russian Orthodox Church responded on Monday by saying they would sever ties with Constantinople, which would prevent Russian Orthodox congregants from taking part in sacraments at churches under the Constantinople Patriarchate. Burton adds, “Tensions over the status of the Ukrainian Church directly reflect the wider political situation: a conflict that has been brewing since the Russian annexation of the formerly Ukrainian coastal region of Crimea in 2014.”

Read at Vox

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