In December last year, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople recognised an autocephalous Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In doing so, he risked turning the longstanding rivalry between Constantinople and Moscow into open and enduring schism: he was establishing a new ecclesial body on territory over which Moscow still claims jurisdiction.
Almost a year later the split continues to deepen and spread. Since mid-October, two important autocephalous churches have recognised the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), provoking fury and retaliatory sanctions from Moscow.
