Bishop of Moscow-backed church supports Ukrainian troops
A high-ranking bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Ukrainian branch has paid a visit to Ukrainian troops in the war zone – a move that is at odds with the church’s officially neutral position on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The branch, called the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, has not officially supported any of the sides. It has been accused of being a tool of the Kremlin – a charge that it denies. In contrast to the Moscow Patriarchate, the rival Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate has unambiguously supported Ukraine’s war effort.
Oleksandr Drabinko, metropolitan of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky and the late Kyiv Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan’s former right-hand man, confirmed to the Kyiv Post on March 30 that he had taken a trip to help Ukrainian troops in the war zone last week – the first such visit by a Moscow Patriarchate bishop. He added, however, that he could not elaborate in detail.
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Oleg Sukhov
