This was the topic of Sergii Bortnyk’s article in the German-language magazine “Religion und Gesellschaft in Ost und West” (Religion and Society in East and West), published in November 2025. This issue of the magazine was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the famous Stockholm Ecumenical Conference of 1925, in which Orthodox hierarchs took a fairly active part. The current issue of the magazine is entitled ‘Breaks and New Beginnings: Orthodoxy and Ecumenism.’
Several points highlighted in Sergii Bortnyk’s article are worth noting:
– In 2022, ties between the religious structures of Russia and Ukraine were severed. The most obvious sign was the dissolution of the Euro-Asian Accreditation Association, which brought together over 50 academic institutions of Baptist and Evangelical churches. At the same time, a telling point was made: ‘After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the post-Soviet cultural space was ultimately destroyed.’
– In contrast, the Ukrainian government seeks to promote the idea of partnership between the state and religious organisations, emphasising the special role of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations as a body that unites most denominations and religious groups in Ukraine.
– The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is excluded from these partnerships. In addition to refusing to invite it to various public events, this is evidenced by the official lists of the State Service for Ethno-Politics and Freedom of Conscience (DESS). On the one hand, religious organisations of the UOC are excluded from the ‘List of organisations that are critical to the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihoods of the population,’ although it includes minorities that are unusual for Ukraine, such as Buddhists and Krishnas. On the other hand, it was the communities of the UOC that DESS issued orders for regarding the need to sever ties with the centre in the aggressor country.
– At the same time, various inter-Christian initiatives were established during the large invasion, including the Council of Christian Churches of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Christian Movement. However, these initiatives are not aimed at theological rapprochement – they were created to deepen Christian virtues in the life of Ukrainian civil society.
– The basis for theological dialogue could be the revival of the ‘Kyivan Church Study Group,’ which existed in the early 1990s and sought to deepen understanding between Orthodox and Greek Catholics, who at that time represented their denominations in the diaspora, primarily in the United States and Canada. However, it is likely that the revival of this initiative in Ukraine will have to wait for the right moment.
The original article by Prof. Sergii Bortnyk in German can be read here: https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ecumenical_relationships_in_ukraine-1.pdf
