The creation of a new church is an attempt to unite Ukrainian Orthodox believers under one roof. The Orthodox Church in Ukraine had been a wing of the Russian Orthodox Church since the late 17th century. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has made the creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church a key campaign issue as he runs for re-election in March. The Russian Orthodox Church remains unpersuaded, alleging the Ukrainian state has harassed priests and believers aligned with the Russian church. Maria Lipman, a prominent independent Russian political analyst, told the AP that Moscow views the establishment of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, as a failure of the Russian Orthodox Church leadership.

Source: ABC News December 16, 2018 13:22 UTC