Eastern Orthodox leadership, despite lacking a single doctrinal authority like a pope, has been united in opposing recognition of same-sex relationships both within its own rites and in the civil realm.
Orthodox Christians packed churches Saturday night for Christmas Eve services during ongoing conflicts including the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars.
The change, enacted in legislation signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in July, reflects both Ukrainians' dismay with the 22-month-old Russian invasion and their assertion of a national identity.
Though he has allowed new houses of worship to be built and old ones to be reopened, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan needs to do more, observers say, to restore respect for a truly pluralistic society as much as for church property.
Archbishop Welby spent several days in Jerusalem last week following the attack on Israelis by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the ensuing assaults on Gaza by Israeli forces.
Draft law 8371, which requires another vote before moving to the president’s desk, would give Ukrainian authorities power to examine the connection of religious groups in Ukraine to the Russian Federation and to ban those whose leadership is outside of Ukraine.
The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to “abandon the Russian heritage,” including that of “imposing the celebration of Christmas” on Jan. 7.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine has further cemented its split from the Russian counterpart it used to be a part of by adopting a new liturgical calendar.