Ukrainians rightly suspicious of the Russian Orthodox Church

Devout Ukrainians are becoming increasingly concerned and suspicious of the Russian Orthodox Church that holds such sway in the country, and with good reason.

A stash of guns and military rations were found recently in a pro-Moscow Orthodox church in Kolomiya in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine. With that in mind, the people of Pochaiv (Pochayiv), just a couple of hundred kilometres to the north, are getting very worried about the huge and beautiful Lavra (monastery) that dominates the town, especially given that it has locked its gates to the local people since the Russian invasion began, rather than welcoming them in and offering the security of its extensive system of caves.

It is those caves, and the network of subterranean chapels, that worry people most. Who knows what is being stored there? The monastery is loyal to Patriarch Kirill, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, who is a close associate of Vladimir Putin, and a known KGB collaborator during the Soviet era. Patriarch Kirill has already been quite outspoken since the Russian invasion began, warning against the "evil forces" that seek to split the historic unity (as he sees it) of the Ukrainian and Russian people.

There is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, established since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, with its own Kyiv Patriarch, recognized by the Istanbul-based head of the Orthodox Church worldwide. But the Ukrainian and Russian churches were united for centuries under the Moscow Patriarchate, and religions are notoriously slow to register change.

So, yes, I'd be suspicious too.