The main cathedral of the Kiev Caves Monastery is the subject of a religious battle between Russia and Ukraine. On the one hand are Orthodox Ukrainian parishes that have declared themselves loyal to the Patriarch of Moscow after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On the other side are the parishes that have joined the New Orthodox Church of Ukraine since 2019.
Since the Russian invasion, numerous parishes have switched to the Ukrainian Church. But to the disgust of many Ukrainians, thousands of other church communities have not switched. This also applies to the parish of the Cave Monastery, the most important Orthodox monastery in Ukraine, which consists of an ensemble of above-ground and underground prayer rooms from the 11th to the 19th century.
Last week, the Ukrainian government intervened. A few days before Christmas, which is celebrated by many Eastern Orthodox Christians on January 7, the government announced that it would take over the Cave Monastery. “A Ukrainian house of prayer must serve the entire Ukrainian people,” said Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko.
He immediately gave permission for the new Ukrainian church to hold a Christmas celebration in the monastery’s cathedral.
Slash at Moscow during church service
The mood in the monastery immediately changed. Metropolitan Epiphanius of Kiev, the head of the Ukrainian church, lashed out at Moscow during the Christmas service on Saturday. “The enemy has treacherously broken the peace and has invaded our land, shedding blood, sowing death and wanting to destroy our state,” said Epiphanius.
Clerics from the ‘Moscow church’ in Ukraine usually express themselves more neutrally about the war. They pray for peace, but not for Ukrainian victory. However, after the invasion they distanced themselves from Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church that supports the war and has described Putin’s presidency as ‘a miracle from God’.
Kirill’s name is no longer mentioned in the liturgy, the clergy of the Moscow Church say. They accuse the Ukrainian government of intimidating believers and violating the right to freedom of religion.
The Ukrainian authorities have already increased the pressure in recent months. In November, security agents raided churches across the country over suspicions of espionage and collaboration with Russia. In doing so, they arrested more than thirty priests. One of the arrested priests told the Russian army in Bocha which residents would be against the occupation, the Ukrainian prosecutor says.
The Holklooster was also invaded. Shortly before that raid, video recordings had surfaced of believers singing “the awakening of Mother Russia” in the monastery. President Zelensky then announced that he wanted to introduce a law to ban activities of the Moscow church, but that law has not yet been passed.
From Moscow, Patriarch Kirill tried to convince the Ukrainians to observe a truce during the Orthodox Christmas. But little of his influence is left: Ukrainians did not allow themselves to be persuaded by a Moscow cleric to let the Russian invading army take a breather.