[LINK] "A conflict of faith between Russia and Ukraine"

[rfmcdonald]

Al Jazeera's Tamila Varshalomidze notes how the collapse in Russia-Ukraine relations is encouraging many Orthodox Christians in Ukraine to break away from churches linked with the Russian Orthodox Church, with entire parishes breaking away.

Father Sergei Dmitriev meets us at a hospital in Kiev where he has been admitted for two weeks suffering from kidney problems. We suggest holding our interview in the garden of the hospital's church, just a few metres away. The Father refuses, sternly but politely. He will "never set foot" on the ground of the Church, he says, accusing it of "using propaganda to cover up Russia's involvement in the Ukraine conflict".

The Church he is referring to is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchy which is ultimately governed by the patriarch of the Russian Church, who is accused of being an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Moscow Patriarchy is different from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchy, which was established after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. And the two churches are perceived as taking very different positions on the current conflict.

Before the conflict, a divided Church had hardly been an issue for Ukrainians. Worshippers would usually choose which church to attend for prayers and services based on where they were and their personal preference for the individual priests.

But that began to change when the conflict broke out and some Ukrainians found themselves questioning the supposed pro-Russian position of the Moscow Patriarchy.