Church Leaders and the Ukraine War: Epiphanius, Onufriy, Bartholomew, Vatican

The Russia-Ukraine War has a religious dimension that is both deeply rooted in history and intensely political in its contemporary expression. The Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Kirill has publicly supported the war as a "holy war" against Western secularism — a theological framing that has outraged the global Orthodox world and accelerated the fragmentation of the Moscow Patriarchate's international authority. Within Ukraine, the conflict between two Orthodox church structures — the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that was until recently in communion with Moscow — has played out alongside the military conflict and carries equally high political stakes.

Metropolitan Epiphanius and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Metropolitan Epiphanius (Serhiy Petrovych Dumenko) became the first Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in January 2019 when the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople granted autocephaly — full independence — to the newly unified Ukrainian church. His enthronement was a historic moment in Eastern Christianity: breaking a centuries-old subordination of Ukrainian Orthodoxy to Moscow and creating a canonical alternative for Ukrainian Orthodox believers who wished to practice their faith outside the Russian church's orbit.

After the full-scale invasion, Epiphanius became a significant voice for Ukrainian resistance — framing the defense of the country in explicitly spiritual terms while managing the rapid movement of parishes and entire dioceses from the UOC-MP to the OCU. He engaged in high-profile ecumenical diplomacy, meeting with Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew, and leaders of Protestant and Catholic churches across Europe, building the OCU's international recognition and positioning it as Ukraine's legitimate national church.

Metropolitan Onufriy: Staying, Condemning, Maintaining Independence

Metropolitan Onufriy (Vasyl Vasyliovych Berezovsky) is the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — the body that was formerly called the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, which cut its administrative ties with Moscow in May 2022 following the Russian invasion. Onufriy's wartime position has been complex: he publicly condemned the invasion within days of its beginning, refused to leave Ukraine (unlike much of the political elite who were evacuated), and organized humanitarian aid delivery to affected communities. He has maintained, against pressure from both the Ukrainian government and from OCU supporters, that his church represents a distinct canonical tradition that cannot simply be subsumed.

The Ukrainian government moved to ban organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine — legislation that potentially threatens the UOC's property and operating rights. Onufriy has contested this, arguing that the UOC is an independent Ukrainian institution with legitimate canonical heritage that should not be conflated with Kirill's church.

Church Structures in Ukraine: Key Data

Patriarch Bartholomew and the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople — whose historically symbolic but ecclesiastically limited authority covers all Orthodox churches in the diaspora and the ancient Patriarchate of Constantinople — provided the canonical legitimacy for Ukrainian autocephaly in 2018-2019 and deepened his support after the full-scale invasion. Bartholomew visited Ukraine in August 2021, just months before the invasion, and has repeatedly called the Russian invasion a war crime and an expression of Moscow's imperial theological pretensions. His support for the OCU and his critique of Patriarch Kirill's pro-war theology represent the most significant split in global Orthodoxy in decades.

The Vatican's Contested Neutrality

Pope Francis's statements on the Ukraine war have generated controversy and sometimes Ukrainian anger. The Pope condemned the invasion clearly but repeatedly spoke in terms that appeared to equate aggressor and victim — referring to "both sides," suggesting Ukraine had been "provoked," and raising the possibility of a negotiated peace on terms that Ukrainian officials regarded as rewarding Russian aggression. His outreach to the Russian Orthodox Church and reluctance to name Russia as the sole aggressor reflected the Vatican's desire to preserve channels for eventual mediation, but was experienced by Ukrainians as moral ambiguity that gave comfort to the invader.

Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who managed day-to-day Vatican diplomacy, maintained back-channel contacts with Moscow while working to secure prisoner exchanges and humanitarian corridors, navigating the political complexity the Pope's public statements made more difficult. The UGCC (Greek Catholic) Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, headquartered in Kyiv throughout the war, represented the directly pro-Ukrainian pole within the Catholic theological world.

Frequently Asked Questions

What role has religion played in Russian justifications for the war?

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church provided explicit theological justification for the invasion — describing it as a defensive struggle against Western-promoted secularism and "gay parades" threatening the Orthodox world. These statements were widely condemned by Orthodox leaders globally and led several Western European Orthodox bishops to break communion with Moscow. Kirill's support for Putin's war effectively weaponized religion in service of imperial nationalism, which historians have compared to similar uses of religious authority in earlier Russian imperial projects.

Why did the UOC cut ties with Moscow?

The UOC's Council in May 2022 voted to declare full independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in reaction to Patriarch Kirill's support for the invasion. This was both theologically and politically significant — it represented an unprecedented step taken by a major component of Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical authority to distance itself from Kirill's war theology. However, the UOC's independence declaration has not been recognized by Kirill's church or fully accepted by the Ukrainian government, which remains suspicious of residual ties.

What is happening to church properties in Ukraine?

The Ukrainian government moved legislatively to ban organizations affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church — threatening UOC's control of its properties, most significantly the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), one of Eastern Orthodoxy's holiest sites. The OCU has pressed for transfer of these historic monasteries, while the UOC has resisted eviction and sought legal protection. The Lavra's status became one of the war's most symbolically charged religious battles.

How has the Greek Catholic Church navigated the war?

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church — which follows Eastern rites but is in full communion with Rome — has been the most unambiguously pro-Ukraine major church in the country. Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk remained in Kyiv throughout the war, held regular livestreamed addresses to the global UGCC community including the million-strong diaspora in North America, and maintained pastoral networks supporting soldiers, their families, and displaced people. The UGCC's Western ties have been an asset in fundraising and advocacy internationally.

What has the global reaction to Kirill's position been?

Kirill's support for the war caused a global Orthodox crisis. The Orthodox Church of Greece, the Church of Cyprus, the Romanian Orthodox Church, and other autocephalous bodies distanced themselves from his positions. Several Orthodox bishops and priests outside Russia publicly condemned Kirill. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the World Council of Churches both criticized Russia's war. The EU added Kirill to its sanctions list, and Finland's Orthodox Church — historically under Moscow — moved toward the Ecumenical Patriarchate's jurisdiction.

Sources

1. Tomos of Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Phanar (Ecumenical Patriarchate), January 2019.
2. Council of Churches and Religious Organizations of Ukraine. Joint Statements on the War. vrciro.org.ua, 2022–2024.
3. Vatican News. Pope Francis Statements on Ukraine. Vatican.va, 2022–2024.
4. Rferl.org. "Ukraine's Orthodox Church Declares Independence from Moscow." June 2022.
5. Crimea.Global / Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Bartholomew Statements on Ukraine. 2022–2024.