Russian church in Ukraine fires pro-Russian bishops

Eva Semkiv, the head of the village of Verkhnya Yablonka in the Lviv region, requested the authorities to fire a school director and teachers for attending church services from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The UOC belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate.

The Holy Cross Monastery in Poltava (northeast Ukraine) has a lovely stone image on the bell tower, with a double-headed eagle. But it is a pity that this is the symbol of the Russian Federation. For the patriotic Ukrainians, this ornament is seen as a betrayal. This started the debate on what to do with the stucco image.

Tensions between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine have risen again in the past few weeks. The Russian church does not recognise the equal position of its Ukrainian counterpart. But the primary bishop of the Orthodox Churches, Patriarch Bartholomew, said last week that he "does not care" about the "ignorant behaviour" from the Russian part of the church.