A branch of Ukraine's Orthodox Church that remained loyal to Moscow after a 2019 schism has said it will break with the Russian church over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine was given permission by the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians worldwide to form a church independent of Moscow in 2019, largely ending centuries of religious ties between the two countries.
However many parishes, especially in Ukraine's east, elected to remain loyal under the umbrella of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
Following a meeting of of its leadership the church announced that it would declare its "full independence" from Russia.
"The council has approved the corresponding additions and changes to the Statute on the Management of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, indicating the full autonomy and independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," it said in a statement late on Friday.
The statement condemned Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and the support of Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia’s church, for what Moscow calls its "special military operation" to combat anti-Russian nationalists. Ukraine says the full-scale invasion was entirely unprovoked.
A 2020 survey by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Centre found that 34% of Ukrainians identified as members of the main Orthodox Church of Ukraine, while 14% were members of Ukraine’s Moscow Patriarchate Church.
Ahead of Friday's decision, more than 400 parishes had left the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate in the aftermath of the invasion.
Earlier last week, the spiritual head of some 260 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, said in an interview. said the Russian Orthodox Church has let Christian Orthodox fathers down by supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine
Moscow calls its three-month-old invasion a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of fascists, an assertion Kyiv and its Western allies say is a baseless pretext for an unprovoked war.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has supported Moscow's action and his stance has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church. The World Council of Churches (WCC) has asked Patriarch Kirill to "intervene and mediate" to help stop the war.
In an interview aired on Greek state TV ERT on Tuesday evening, Patriarch Bartholomew said he expected Patriarch Kirill to stand up against Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine and resign, if needed, in an act of opposition.
"It would not be possible for all churches not to condemn violence, war. The Russian church disappointed us. I did not want the Church of Russia and Brother Patriarch Kirill to be this tragic exception. I do not know how he can justify himself in his conscience," he said.
"I expected Brother Kirill to stand up to this crucial, historic moment. If needed, to sacrifice his throne, to tell Putin, 'Mr. President, I can not agree with you, I resign'," he said.
The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church clashed four years ago over Ukraine's decision to establish an independent or "autocephalous" Church.
About 100 million Orthodox Christians are in Russia. Ukraine has about 30 million Orthodox believers.