Moscow rages as Ukrainian Church's independence recognised

The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate on Thursday said it had agreed to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in a move welcomed with jubilation by Kiev but condemned as "catastrophic" in Moscow.

Russia had warned against allowing the Ukraine Church to sever its ties with Moscow, with the powerful head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, travelling to Istanbul earlier this year in a bid to dissuade the patriarchate.

The issue is set to play a key role in Ukraine's March 2019 presidential elections, with incumbent President Petro Poroshenko making independence from the Russian Orthodox Church -- known as autocephaly -- a key issue as he plans a re-election bid.

Poroshenko quickly hailed the decision of the Patriarchate, which is based in its historic home of Istanbul, the former Constantinople and once the capital of the Byzantine Empire before the Ottoman Muslim conquest of 1453.

"This is a victory of good over evil, light over darkness," Poroshenko said in televised remarks, adding that Ukraine has been waiting for this "historic event" for more than 330 years.

But the Russian Orthodox Church said that the Patriarchate had taken "catastrophic" decisions both for itself and global Orthodoxy. "The Patriarchate of Constantinople has crossed a red line," a spokesman for Russian