Orthodox Church ‘facing split’ as clergy clash over war
ONLY a few hundred yards from the splendid blue and gold domes of Odesa’s Holy Assumption Cathedral, soldiers are waiting to face an invasion force of Russian troops sent by Vladimir Putin.
Yet inside the Orthodox cathedral, which takes its direction from church leaders in Moscow, the archpriest is clear about who he feels is to blame for the war convulsing Ukraine.
Ukraine’s leaders and the West have forced Mr Putin to act, he says.
“Why did the West bring so many weapons to Ukraine?” 48-year-old Father Dimitryi asks. “It looks like Ukraine wanted to attack Russia, to take back Donbas. They tricked us. And the people are hostages here. Why do you need to bother a sleeping bear? They were provoking. And surely it’s a shock for us now.”
As worshippers light candles in the cathedral’s glorious interior, he adds: “Russia was trapped. Russia asked them not to spread Nato. It looks like the events unfolded the way Russia was forced to attack.”
The 13-day-old invasion of Ukraine is deepening divisions inside the country’s centuries-old Orthodox church and has led to allegations about the loyalties of some clergy.
The war has pushed some priests to call for their parishes to break from the Russian Orthodox Church, ending ties that go back centuries. Some Russiaaffiliated churches in the west of the country have been searched, suspected of concealing weapons.
Father Dimitryi acknowledges the strains that the war between Ukraine and Russia has put on his church.
He said: “Most bishops expressed their dissatisfaction regarding the aggression. So our bishops are supporting Ukraine.
“It’s a very unpleasant situation. And I don’t know how it will be in the future. It has to be some meeting where the question of separation may be raised.”