An Orthodox Christian schism in Ukraine echoes around the world

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS across the globe are bracing themselves for the Lenten fast, a seven-week period of vegan fare and prayer that starts on March 2nd. But few expect this annual ritual to close the rift that runs through eastern Christendom. A dispute that flared a year ago over the proclamation of an independent church in Ukraine has ricocheted across all the other countries where Orthodox Christianity is practised. Diplomats in Moscow, Washington and elsewhere are watching, because behind the arcane arguments over history and canon law lies a geopolitical standoff.

From the beginning, President Vladimir Putin and his supporters have denounced the new Ukrainian body as an encroachment on Russia’s spiritual sphere of influence and a machination of American diplomacy. The United States backs Ukraine’s right to ecclesiastical independence. Mike Pompeo, the American secretary of state, made a point of meeting the new Ukrainian primate, Metropolitan Epifaniy, when visiting Kiev on January 31st. Both deplored religious persecution in Russian-controlled bits of Ukraine and laid flowers in memory of slain Ukrainian soldiers.