Orthodox Church of Ukraine

Anotace: On 15 December 2018, two canonically unrecognized Orthodox Churches in Ukraine united themselves into a new Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), opening thus final stage of a long and painful process of creation of independent canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine. This process culminated on 5th of January 2019, when Constantinopol´s patriarch Bartholomew I issued Tomos, an official decree mandating independence for new Church under Orthodox Law. The process is also complemented by law, which might eventually require Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to clearly identify its association with Russian Orthodox Church. The new phase of Ukrainian nation and state building project thus started. However, the new church and related developments might also create previously unforeseen challenges. It will be thus the ultimate success of the state-building in Ukraine, which will determine if the new Church will eventually strengthen or further divide Ukrainian society.