What decisions were made at the council?

The council decided to establish the OCU, which will be based on the previously existing structures of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, as well as on an unspecified part of the structures of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church–Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). As head of the new OCU was elected Epiphanius (Serhiy Dumenko), Metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky and Bila Tserkva of the UOC-KP, who will bear the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine. The OCU will be an autocephalous Church. Epiphanius will receive the tomos (act confirming the independence of the OCU) on the eve of Orthodox Christmas, 6 January 2019, from the hands of Constantinople Patriarch Barthlomew.

Who is Epiphanius, the new head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine?

The elevation of 39-year-old Epiphanius came as a compromise between Constantinople and Patriarch Filaret, the former head of the UOC-KP, and his close associates. Filaret, who initially had intended to stand for election to the post of head of the new Church himself eventually withdrew under pressure from Patriarch Bartholomew, but on the condition that his protégé would be chosen instead. The decision was supported during the council personally by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who persuaded the main contender, Metropolitan Mikhail (also from UOC-KP), to withdraw his candidacy. Epiphanius is considered Filaret’s “right hand” and had made an instant career for himself under his patronage, being promoted to the rank of archbishop just four years after he had been ordained a deacon. The election of Epiphanius guarantees Filaret informal influence over the new Church.

What does it mean for the religious status of churches in Ukraine?

The council initiated a radical change in the balance of power within Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The OCU now takes over from UOC-MP as the most influential and prestigious Orthodox church in Ukraine and will enjoy favour and support from the state authorities. However, it is not certain whether (or when) UOC-MP will lose its status as the largest church in Ukraine (it has around 13,000 parishes) to the OCU, since this will depend on the number of parishes that decide to change affiliation and join the newly created Church. The change of affiliation will be accompanied by local conflicts over the rights to use church facilities and the involvement of law-enforcement agencies may then be necessary.

What is the political significance of autocephaly?

The appointment of the OCU is one of the most important steps towards Ukraine’s further  independence from Russia. The OCU’s creation is supported by about a third of Ukrainians, with the most support—about 60%—in the west of the country and the least—about 14%—in the east, while about 20% of Ukrainians are against it. The creation of the OCU should strengthen the political position of President Poroshenko, who will be up for re-election and who initiated efforts towards autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church.

The creation of the OCU has met with a hostile reaction from Russia, which will fuel religious protests over the change. These could become violent, especially in case of disputes over the ownership of UOC-MP property or transfers of it to the OCU by force. In an extreme scenario, the necessity to protect the faithful belonging to the UOC-MP Russia may be used as a pretext to start another intervention—especially in the eastern part of Ukraine.

What does the establishment of the new UOC mean for the Orthodox world?

Autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church has been a subject of dispute for years and in 2016 it was one of the reasons for the breakup of the Pan-Orthodox Council. Because of the decision to give autocephaly to Ukraine, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) broke canonical unity with Constantinople. The Antiochian, Polish, and Serbian Orthodox Churches also opposed autocephaly for Ukraine openly. Despite strong ties with the ROC, for religious and political reasons, the Bulgarian and Georgian Orthodox Churches did not express their opinion. The Patriarch of Constantinople’s decision was supported by the Greek and Romanian Churches. Although granting autocephaly to Ukraine should not lead to breaking canonical unity among other Orthodox Churches besides that between Moscow and Constantinople, the cohesion of the Orthodox world will be adversely affected.