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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Isobel Koshiw

The enemy within? Ukraine’s Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church faces scrutiny

The Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv.
The Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kyiv. Photograph: Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images

Father Mykola Danylevych, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church, answered the phone before quickly hanging up. “I told you to call me on an encrypted line!” Danylevych, like his fellow high-ranking clergymen at the church, are in a state of paranoia and panic – their church, the biggest in Ukraine, is under threat.

“We are not holier than thou, we admit that there are some unresolved matters on our side … but we are for individual responsibility, not collective,” said Danylevych.

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