What is the major religion in Ukraine?
Eastern Ukraine
According to a 2016 survey of religion in Ukraine held by the Razumkov Center, 73.5% of the population in Eastern Ukraine were Christians (63.2% Eastern Orthodox, 8.1% simply Christians, 1.0% Protestants, and 0.3% Latin Rite Catholics), 0.5% were Muslims, 0.3% were Jewish, and 0.3% were Hindus. Not religious and other believers not identifying with any of the listed major religious institutions constituted about 24.7% of the population. It also showed that approximately 55.6% of the population of eastern Ukraine (which in Razumkov's mapping excluded Donbass and consisted of the regions immediately to the west of it) declared to be believers, while 13.4% declared to be undecided or non-believers, and 3.5% declared to be atheist. 
A 2007 survey by the Razumkov Centre asked "Would you like to have your region separated from Ukraine and joined another state?" In eastern Ukraine, 77.9% of respondents disagreed, 10.4% agreed, and the rest were undecided. 
In a poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology in the first half of February 2014, 25.8% of those polled in East Ukraine believed "Ukraine and Russia must unite into a single state", nationwide this percentage was 12.5%.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
One of the largest religious controversies in Ukraine recently involved having the almost exclusively western Ukraine-based UGCC move its administrative centre from Lviv to Kiev whilst its new cathedral's construction was sponsored by the first lady, Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko. This move was criticised not only by the UOC(MP), but also by the whole Eastern Orthodox Communion.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
Protestantism arrived to Ukraine together with German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were initially granted religious freedom by the Russian Imperial authorities, unlike the native population. While some were Catholic, the majority were either Evangelical (in North America known as Lutheran) or Mennonite (Anabaptist). Of the 200,000 or so Germans in Volhynia c.1900, some 90% or so were Lutheran. Lutheranism went into a major decline with the emigration of most of the Germans out of the region during the World Wars but there are still small remnants today (2006) in the Odessa and Kiev regions.
Russian culture
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia's traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997.
Estimates of believers widely fluctuate among sources, and some reports put the number of non-believers in Russia as high as 16–48% of the population. Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches. However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, the church is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Russian heritage and culture. Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, and various Protestants exist.
Religion in Belarus
Religion in Belarus has been traditionally Orthodox Christianity although there is also a sizeable Catholic minority. The legacy of the state atheism of the Soviet era is evident in the fact that a large part of the Belarusians are not religious. Moreover, other non-traditional and new religions have sprung up in the country after the end of the Soviet Union. According to the most recent data published in 2011 by the Ministry of the Interior, 48.3% of the Belarusians are Orthodox Christians, 41.1% are irreligious (atheists and agnostics), 7.1% are Catholics, and 3.5% are members of other religions.
Religion in Ukraine
Lev Sylenko founded the Church of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira) in 1966 in Chicago, United States, and only opened their first temple in the mother country of Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. The current headquarters of RUNVira is in Spring Glen, New York, United States. The doctrine of the Church of the Native Ukrainian National Faith, "Sylenkoism" or "Dazhbogism", is monist and centered around the god Dazhbog.
Hinduism in Ukraine
Hinduism is a minority religion in Ukraine.It is followed by 0.1 % of the population,with a slightly higher proportion in Western Ukraine (0.2%).
According to the 2016 survey by Razumkov Centre, Hindu believers constituted 0.2% of the population of Ukraine, with a slightly higher proportion in Donbass (0.6%) and eastern Ukraine(0.3%).The percentage of Hindus decreased by 0.1% according to the 2018 survey by Razumkov Centre.In 2018, Hindus constituted 0.1% of the population of Ukraine, with a slightly higher proportion in Western Ukraine (0.2%) and less than 0.1 % in other regions.As of January 1, 2006, twenty-nine Krishna Consciousness communities were registered IRF 2006
Christmas in Ukraine
Both the December 25 Western Christianity Christmas Day and the January 7 Christmas Day of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Ukrainian Greek Catholic Churches following the Julian Calendar, are public holidays in Ukraine. With these two holiday dates the Ukrainian Christmas period lasts for an extended period, with the celebrations starting on December 6, the Western Christian observance of the Feast of Saint Nicholas and ending on the aforementioned January 19 the following year.
Religion in Ukraine
In the 10th century the emerging state of Kievan Rus' came increasingly under the cultural influence of the Byzantine Empire. The first recorded Rus' convert to Eastern Orthodoxy, the Princess Saint Olga, visited Constantinople in 945 or 957. In the 980s, according to tradition, Olga's grandson, Knyaz (Prince) Vladimir had his people baptised in the Dnieper River. This began a long history of the dominance of Eastern Orthodoxy in Ruthenia, a religious ascendancy that would later influence both Ukraine and Russia. Domination of Little Russia by Great Russia (from 1721) eventually led to the decline of Uniate Catholicism (officially founded in 1596) in the Ukrainian lands under Tsarist control.
Religion in Ukraine
According to the same survey, 67.3% of the total population adhered to Orthodox Christianity. Orthodoxy is stronger in central (76.7%) and southern Ukraine (71.0%), while it comprises about two thirds of the total population in eastern Ukraine (63.2%), and a particularly low proportion of the population in western Ukraine (57.0%) and the Donbass (50.6%).
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
The clergy who joined the Russian Orthodox Church were spared the large-scale persecution of religion that occurred elsewhere in the country (see Religion in the Soviet Union). In the city of Lviv, only one church was closed (at a time when many cities in the rest of Ukraine did not have a working church). Moreover, the western dioceses of Lviv-Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk were the largest in the USSR and contained the majority of the Russian Orthodox Church's cloisters (particularly convents, of which there were seven in Ukrainian SSR but none in Russia). Orthodox canon law was also relaxed on the clergy allowing them to shave beards (a practice uncommon to Orthodoxy) and conduct liturgy in Ukrainian as opposed to Church Slavonic.
Religion in Ukraine
Since before the outbreak of the War in Donbass in 2014, but even more violently so from that year onwards, there has been unrest between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian religious groups in the country.
Donbass
According to a 2016 survey of religion in Ukraine held by the Razumkov Center, 65.0% of the population in Donbass believe in Christianity (including 50.6% Orthodox, 11.9% who declared to be "simply Christians", and 2.5% who belonged to Protestant churches). Islam is the religion of 6% of the population of Donbass and Hinduism of the 0.6%, both the religions with a share of the population that is higher compared to other regions of Ukraine. People who declared to be not believers or believers in some other religions, not identifying in one of those listed, were 28.3% of the population.
Islam in Ukraine
While ethnic Ukrainians are predominantly Orthodox and Uniate Christians, Muslims have lived in the territory that makes up modern Ukraine for centuries. Muslim settlements are concentrated in the country's southern half, particularly in Crimea, although there are Lipka Tatars colonies in other regions such as Volhynia and Podolia.
Catholic Church in Ukraine
The Catholic Church in Ukraine () is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Protestantism in Ukraine
Protestants in Ukraine number about 600,000 to 700,000 (2007), about 2% of the total population. Nearly all traditional Protestant denominations are represented in the country. According to "Christianity Today" magazine, Ukraine has become not just the "Bible Belt" of Eastern Europe, but a "hub of evangelical church life, education, and missions". At present, the country is a key supplier of missionaries and a center of evangelical training and press printing for all the countries of the former Soviet Union, where the legal environment is not so favourable.
History of the Jews in Ukraine
Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century) and developed many of the most distinctive modern Jewish theological and cultural traditions such as Hasidism. According to the World Jewish Congress, the Jewish community in Ukraine constitute the third biggest Jewish community in Europe and the fifth biggest in the world.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
In the wake of the Ukrainization policies carried out in Soviet Ukraine in the first decade of the Soviet rule many of the Orthodox clergy willfully joined the church thus avoiding the persecution suffered by many clergy members who remained inside the Russian Orthodox Church. During the period in which the Soviet government tolerated the renewed Ukrainian national church the UAOC gained a wide following particularly among the Ukrainian peasantry.
Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
On 15 December 2018, members of the existing Ukrainian Orthodox churches (the UOC-KP, the UAOC and parts of the UOC-MP) voted through their representatives (bishops) to unite into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the basis of complete canonical independence. They elected their primate and adopted a charter for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Ukrainization
At the same time, despite the ongoing Soviet-wide anti-religious campaign, the Ukrainian national Orthodox Church was created, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (See History of Christianity in Ukraine). The Bolshevik government initially saw the national churches as a tool in their goal to suppress the Russian Orthodox Church, always viewed with great suspicion by the regime for its being the cornerstone of the defunct Russian Empire and the initially strong opposition it took towards the regime change. Therefore, the government tolerated the new Ukrainian national church for some time and the UAOC gained a wide following among the Ukrainian peasantry.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine is a conservative Evangelical Protestant denomination in the Reformed tradition. It holds to the presbyterian form of church governance and to the Reformed theology of the Westminster Standards.
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
The church was established by a unification council on 15 December 2018, and received its tomos of autocephaly (decree of ecclesial independence) on 5 January 2019. The council voted to unite the existing Ukrainian Orthodox jurisdictions: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and a part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). The primate of the church is the Metropolitan of Kiev and all Ukraine. The unification council elected Epiphanius Dumenko as its primate, previously the Metropolitan of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Bila Tserkva (UOC-KP).
Religion in Ukraine
Byzantine Rite Catholicism is the religion of 9.4% of the population of Ukraine as of 2016. This church is largely concentrated in western Ukraine, where it gathers a significant proportion of the population (39.7%). Latin Rite Catholicism, instead, is the religion of 0.8% of the population of Ukraine, mostly in western (1.3%) and central (1.2%) regions. Catholicism is largely absent in eastern Ukraine and non-existent in Donbass.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine
Since 1922, Ukraine was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) under communist control, which restricted most religious institutions. Near the end of the Soviet Union, a new law was passed granting freedom of individual religious practice and allowing independent religious organizations. During this time of change, the first LDS missionaries arrived in Ukraine. The president of the Austria Vienna East Mission, Howard L. Biddulph, visited in June 1991 and Ukraine's first branch was organized in Kyiv with 40 members. In September of that year, Boyd K. Packer and Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited, so that Packer could dedicate the nation for missionary preaching, and the LDS Church was officially registered with the Ukrainian government. In early 1992, shortly after Ukraine's withdraw from the Soviet Union, the Ukraine Kiev Mission was created with 35 missionaries, and Biddulph serving as its first president. Another mission was created in Donetsk in July 1993.
Religion in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church traditionally constituted the second largest group of believers after the Christian Orthodox churches. The Union of Brest formed the Church in 1596 to unify Orthodox and Catholic believers. Outlawed by the Soviet Union in 1946 and legalized in 1987, the church was for forty-three years the single largest banned religious community in the world. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk is the present head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The church uses Ukrainian as its liturgical language.
Ukraine
Ukrainian customs are heavily influenced by Orthodox Christianity, the dominant religion in the country. Gender roles also tend to be more traditional, and grandparents play a greater role in bringing up children, than in the West. The culture of Ukraine has also been influenced by its eastern and western neighbours, reflected in its architecture, music and art.
Religion in Ukraine
Main concentrations of the Ruthenian Catholic Church are in Trans-Carpathia near the Hungarian border. This community has multiple ties in Hungary, Slovakia and the United States.
Baptists in Ukraine
During the 1920s, Evangelical Christians and Baptists were prohibited in Soviet Ukraine; they were, to some extent, revived during and after World War II in a Soviet effort to weaken the cultural influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1944, Baptists and Evangelical Christians united in the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists (ECB). They were later joined by other smaller Baptist and Evangelical trends. At the end of the 1950s, 75% of the believers of the All-USSR Council of ECB lived in Ukraine. Baptists in Ukraine experienced a revival in the 1970s, and are now among the most active Christian denominations in the country.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
Statistics on the number of parishes may be more reliable and consistent, even though they may not necessarily directly translate into the numbers of adherents. By number of parishes and quantity of church buildings, the UOC(MP)'s strong base is central and northernwestern Ukraine. However, percentage wise (with respect to rival Orthodox Churches) its share of parishes there varies from 60 to 70 percent. At the same time, by percentage alone (with respect to rival Orthodox Churches) the UOC(MP)'s share of church buildings peaks in the urban russophone southern and eastern Ukrainian provinces, being as high as 90%. The same can be said about Transcarpathia, although there the UOC(MP)'s main rival is the Greek Catholic Church and thus its share of "total" church buildings is only 40%. The capital Kiev is where the greatest Orthodox rivalry takes place, with the UOC(MP) holding about half of the Orthodox communities there. The only place where the UOC(MP) is a true minority, in both quantity, percentage and support are the former Galician provinces of Western Ukraine. There the total share of parishes does not exceed more than five percent. The UOC(MP) does not have any parishes abroad, as its followers identify themselves under the same umbrella as those of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Religion in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) is a constituent part of the Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchate). In the week following the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) on 15 December 2018 several parishes announced they would leave the UOC (UOC-MP) and join the new church. The UOC-MP, like the rest of the Russian Orthodox Church, uses predominantly the Church Slavonic language in liturgy.
Religion in Ukraine
As of 2016, there are 4,733 registered Catholic churches, among which 3,799 belong to the two Byzantine Rite (Ukrainian & Ruthenian) Churches and 933 belong to the Latin Church.
Eastern Orthodoxy by country
Eastern Orthodoxy is the largest single religious faith in the world's largest country by area: Russia (41%-77%), where roughly half of the Eastern Orthodox Christians live. It is the majority religion in Ukraine (65.4%-77%), Romania (82%), Belarus (48%-73%) Greece (95%-98%), Serbia (85%), Bulgaria (88%), Moldova (93%), Georgia (84%), Macedonia (65%), Cyprus (89%), Montenegro (72%), Estonia (14%), and it is also predominant in the disputed territories of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.
State atheism
Today in the Russian Federation, approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians, amounting to 70% of the population, although the Church claims a membership of 80 million. According to the CIA Factbook, however, only 17% to 22% of the population is now Christian. According to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers. In Ukraine, 96.1% of the Ukrainian population is Christian. In Lithuania, the only Catholic country which was once a Soviet republic, a 2005 report stated that 79% of Lithuanians belonged to the Roman Catholic Church.
Buddhism in Ukraine
Today Ukraine has nearly 100 Buddhist communities and groups, 38 of them are officially registered and enjoy the status of legal entity. The largest communities and groups belong to the Tibetan tradition in Buddhism, that is, the tantric tradition of Vajrayana (“Diamond Vehicle”). The most widespread among them are Karma Kagyu communities, the main branch of the Tibetan Kagyu-pa School. They are united into the All-Ukraine Religious Center Ukrainian Association of Karma Kagyu Buddhists. In Ukraine, the religious studies of this center are intended for laypeople. Communities and groups of followers of this tradition are present in almost all regional centers of Ukraine.”
Religion in the European Union
Religion in the European Union is diverse. The largest religion in the EU is Christianity, which accounts for 71.6% of EU population. Smaller groups include those of Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and some East Asian religions, most concentrated in Germany, Britain and France. Also present are revival movements of pre-Christianity European folk religions including Heathenism, Rodnovery, Romuva, and Druidry.
Religion in Ukraine
On 15 December 2018, members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and parts of Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)), voted during an unification council through their representatives (bishops) to unite into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the basis of complete canonical independence. They elected their primate, Epiphanius, and adopted a charter for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine during the same unification council. On 5 January 2019, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Epiphanius celebrated a Divine Liturgy in St. George's Cathedral in Istanbul; the tomos was signed thereafter, also in St. George's Cathedral.
Religion in Ukraine
In December 1996, the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations was formed with the objective of uniting around 90-95% of religious communities of Ukraine. Since the end of 2003, the Council of Representatives of the Christian Churches of Ukraine exists in parallel to the council to promote the principles of Christianity in Ukraine and religious freedom. Affiliation with either or both of the assemblies is voluntary.
Religion in Ukraine
As of 2018, Christianity was particularly strong in westernmost Ukrainian regions, where most Greek Catholics lived. In central, southern and eastern regions, Christians constitute a smaller proportion of the total population, particularly low in the easternmost region of Donbass. Another religion that is present in Ukraine besides Christianity is Rodnovery (Slavic native faith), which comprises Ukrainian- and Russian-language communities (some Rodnover organizations call the religion , "Orthodoxy", thus functioning in homonymy with Christian Orthodox churches). Hinduism has been spread after the collapse of the Soviet Union by Indian and International Society for Krishna Consciousness' missionaries and is particularly present in the Donbass region. Crimean Tatars professing Islam represent a significant part of the population in Crimea, which prior 2014 was a subject of Ukraine, but has been since that year occupied by Russia. As of 2016, without Crimea, where Muslims formed 15% of the population in 2013, only Donbass maintains a larger community of Muslims compared to other Ukrainian regions (6%).
Russia
Traced back to the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century, Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in the country; smaller Christian denominations such as Catholics, Armenian Gregorians and various Protestant churches also exist. The Russian Orthodox Church was the country's state religion prior to the Revolution and remains the largest religious body in the country. An estimated 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox churches. However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Easter is the most popular religious holiday in Russia, celebrated by a large segment of the Russian population, including large numbers of those who are non-religious. More than three-quarters of the Russian population celebrate Easter by making traditional Easter cakes, coloured eggs and paskha.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP) insists on its name being just the "Ukrainian Orthodox Church", stating that it is the sole canonical body of Orthodox Christians in the country, a Ukrainian ""local church"" (). 
It is also the name that it is registered under in the State Committee of Ukraine in Religious Affairs.
Slavic Native Faith
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine became an independent republic, with many Ukrainians turning to strongly nationalistic agendas; among those to have done so are pseudo-archaeologists like Yuri Shylov, who posits Ukraine as the "cradle of civilisation". It is within this broader milieu of cultural nationalism and interest in alternative spiritualities that Slavic Native Faith re-emerged in Ukraine. The United States-based Native Ukrainian National Faith established itself in Ukraine soon after independence, with the first congregation in Ukraine gaining official recognition in Kiev in 1991. There had been schisms in the international organisation of Native Ukrainian National Faith. A number of senior followers broke with Sylenko during the 1980s, rejecting the idea that he should be the ultimate authority in the religion; they formed the Association of Sons and Daughters of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (OSID RUNVira) and secured legal control of the temple in Spring Glen. A second group, the Association of Sons and Daughters of Ukraine of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (OSIDU RUNVira), maintained links with Sylenko himself, whom it regards as a prophet, and adopted his "Maha Vira" as a sacred text. Despite the animosity that existed between these rival Ukrainian groups, there was some collaboration between them. In 2003, the First Forum of Rodnovers was held in the country, resulting in two public proclamations: the first urged the country's government to protect what the Rodnovers regarded as sacred sites and objects, and the second called on the government not to go ahead with the proposed privatisation of agricultural land. That same year, a group called Ancestral Fire of the Native Orthodox Faith was established; in contrast to the anti-Russian slant taken by Sylenko, it embraced a Pan-Slavic perspective.
Politics of Ukraine
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, although religious organizations are required to register with local authorities and with the central government.
Minority rights are respected in accordance with a 1991 law guaranteeing ethnic minorities the right to schools and cultural facilities and the use of national languages in conducting personal business. According to the Ukrainian constitution, Ukrainian is the only official state language. However, in Crimea and some parts of eastern Ukraine—areas with substantial ethnic Russian minorities—use of Russian is widespread in official business.
Ukrainian nationalism
At the same time, despite the ongoing Soviet-wide anti-religious campaign, the Ukrainian national Orthodox Church was created, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The church was initially seen by the Bolshevik government as a tool in their goal to suppress the Russian Orthodox Church, always viewed with great suspicion by the regime for its being the cornerstone of the defunct Russian Empire and the initially strong opposition it took towards the regime change. Therefore, the government tolerated the new Ukrainian national church for some time and the UAOC gained a wide following among the Ukrainian peasantry.
Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
It was expected that on 20 December 2018, the Ukrainian Parliament was going vote a law to force the UOC-MP to change its name (bill n. 5309). This law concerns the name of religious organizations (associations) that are part of a religious organization (association) whose governing center is outside the borders of Ukraine, in a state which, according to the Law of Ukraine, is recognized as carrying out military aggression against Ukraine and/or temporarily occupying part of the territory of Ukraine. On 20 December, the bill was successfully voted, while members of the UOC-MP were holding a protest outside the parliament. Soon after the law was passed, a brawl erupted in the parliament between the deputies.
Donetsk
Donetsk's residents belong to religious traditions including the Eastern Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches, Protestantism, and the Roman Catholic Church, as well as Islam and Judaism. The religious body with the most members is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate.
Religion in Lithuania
As per the 2011 census, the predominant religion in Lithuania is Christianity, with the largest confession being that of the Catholic Church (about 77% of the population is Catholic according to the 2011 census). There are also smaller groups of Orthodox Christians, Evangelical Lutherans, members of Reformed churches, other Protestants, Jews and Muslims as well as people of other faiths.
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
On 15 December 2018, members of the existing Ukrainian Orthodox churches (the UOC-KP, the UAOC and parts of the UOC-MP) voted through their representatives (bishops) to unite into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the basis of complete canonical independence. They elected their primate and adopted a charter for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Religion in Ukraine
The Slavic native faith (Rodnovery, Ukrainian: Рідновірство "Ridnovirstvo", Рідновір'я "Ridnovirya" or Рiдна Вiра "Ridna Vira"; otherwise called Православ'я "Pravoslavya"—"Orthodoxy") is represented in Ukraine by numerous organizations. As of 2016 there are 138 registered communities divided between the Church of the Native Ukrainian National Faith (Рідна Українська Національна Віра, RUNVira)—72 churches, the Ancestral Fire of Native Orthodoxy (Родового Вогнища Рідної Православної Віри)—21 churches, the Church of the Ukrainian Gentiles (Церкви Українських Язичників)—7 churches, the Federation of Ukrainian Rodnovers (Об'єднання Рідновірів України)—6 churches, and other organizations—32 churches. The Federation of Ukrainian Rodnovers was founded in 1998 by Halyna Lozko and has chapters in Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, Boryspil, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Lviv and Yuzhnoukrainsk. There are many other unregistered groups and federations, for instance the Ancestral Fire of the Slavic Native Faith (Родове Вогнище Слов'янської Рідної Віри), the Wrath of God Native Orthodox Faith, the North Caucasian Scythian Regional Fire, the Order of the Knights of the Solar God and the Rodoliubye Russian Rodnover Community.
Europe
The second most popular religion is Islam (6%) concentrated mainly in the Balkans and eastern Europe (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, North Cyprus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, North Caucasus, and the Volga-Ural region). Other religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are minority religions (though Tibetan Buddhism is the majority religion of Russia's Republic of Kalmykia). The 20th century saw the revival of Neopaganism through movements such as Wicca and Druidry.
Religion in Ukraine
The Armenian Catholic Church has a very small presence. As of 2016 there is only one officially registered church belonging to Armenian Catholics.
Religion in Ukraine
Since early 1992, there have been three Orthodox churches active in the independent Ukraine following the dissolution of the USSR: the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP), the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) (UOC-MP). The UAOC and the UOC-KP were not recognized by other Orthodox churches and were considered schismatic.
List of cathedrals in Ukraine
Please, note that all of the Russian Orthodox Church temples in Ukraine are organized as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Since 1992 there has been a movement to organize a separate Ukrainian Orthodox Church led by self organized Kiev Patriarch. For disambiguation purposes the Russian Orthodox Church is identified as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), and other the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate).
Uruguay
Uruguay has no official religion; church and state are officially separated, and religious freedom is guaranteed. A 2008 survey by the INE of Uruguay showed Catholicism as the main religion, with 45.7% of the population; 9.0% are non-Catholic Christians, 0.6% are Animists or Umbandists (an Afro-Brazilian religion), and 0.4% Jewish. 30.1% reported believing in a god, but not belonging to any religion, while 14% were atheist or agnostic. Among the sizeable Armenian community in Montevideo, the dominant religion is Christianity, specifically Armenian Apostolic.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
As the "unia" continued its expansion into Ukraine, its unpopularity grew, particularly in the southern steppes where Dnieper Cossacks lived. The Cossacks valued their traditions and culture saw the "unia" as a final step of Polonization. As a result, they reacted by becoming fierce proponents of Orthodoxy. Such feelings played a role in the mass uprising whose targets included all non-Orthodox religious proponents, the Catholic and Uniate clergy and Jews. During this time metropolitan Mogila took full advantage of the moment to restore the Orthodox domination in Ukraine, including returning one of its sacred buildings, the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.
Unification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine
The Unification council of the Orthodox churches of Ukraine () is a council which was held on 15 December 2018 in the St Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev. The council voted to unite the existing Ukrainian Orthodox churches (the UOC-KP, the UAOC and parts of the UOC-MP) through their representatives, on the basis of complete canonical independence. All the members of the UOC-KP and the UAOC, and some members of the UOC-MP, merged into the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the unification council elected Epiphanius I as its first primate.
Islam in Ukraine
Due to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea and the War in Donbass, which is fought near Donetsk and Luhansk, 750,000 Muslims (including half-million Crimean Tatars) are living in territory no longer controlled by Ukraine. (According to figures as stated by Said Ismagilov, the mufti of Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah".)
History of Christianity in Ukraine
In the Union of Brest of 1596 (colloquially known as "unia"), a part of the Ukrainian Church was accepted under the jurisdiction of the Roman Pope, becoming a Byzantine Rite Catholic Church, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, colloquially known as the Uniate Church. While the new church gained many faithful among the Ukrainians in Galicia, the majority of Ukrainians in the rest of the lands remained within Eastern Orthodoxy with the church affairs ruled by then from Kiev under the metropolitan Peter Mogila "(Petro Mogyla)". The Orthodox Church was made illegal (its legality was partially restored in 1607), its property confiscated, and Orthodox believers faced persecution and discrimination which became an important reason for large numbers of Ukrainians to emigrate to Tsardom of Russia following the Union. The eastward spread of the Union of Brest led to violent clashes, for example, assassination of the Greek Catholic Archbishop Josaphat Kuntsevych by the Orthodox mob in Vitebsk in 1623.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
Traditionally the Ukrainian clergy, following the annexation of Kievan Metropolia, were one of the main sources of opposition to the Old Believer schism which took place at the time, under Patriarch Nikon. None of the Ukrainian parishes followed the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church. Although in 1905 the Tsar's decree on freedom of religion allowed the Old Believers church to reform, it gained little support in Ukraine. Presently, however the Old Believer community very much exploited the politicised schism in Ukrainian Orthodoxy and, as of 2004, number 53 communities scattered throughout Ukraine, with one of the biggest in Vylkove.
LGBT rights in Ukraine
Since the fall of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Ukrainian LGBT community has gradually become more visible and more organized politically, organising several LGBT events in Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih. These events have been marred by violent attacks by nationalist groups and cancellation by authorities. Most Ukrainians affiliate with the Eastern Orthodox Church, which has a significant influence on the perception of society towards members of the LGBT community. The Orthodox Church has opposed LGBT events and groups, often in the name of "combatting immorality", and has even encouraged violent attacks. As such, many LGBT people in Ukraine report feeling the need to lie about their true sexual orientation or gender identity in order to avoid being a target of discrimination or violent harassment. Several politicians have proposed suppressing freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for LGBT people, by enacting so-called "anti-propaganda" laws.
Religion in Ukraine
Judaic congregations use Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish and Ukrainian languages. As of 2018, 0.4% of the population of Ukraine was found to be constituted by Jews believing in Judaism. There are, in the same year, 271 officially registered Jewish religious communities.
Shcholkine
The 2001 Ukrainian Census recorded the population of Shcholkine as 11,677 persons. Ethnically the population is predominately Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar. Major religions can be assumed to include atheism or agnosticism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Islam, although there is only one church in Shcholkine's immediate vicinity. Languages spoken are mostly Russian and Crimean Tatar; the use of the Ukrainian language is mainly restricted to tourists from other regions of Ukraine and on schools.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
The main religious groups are presented below:
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
The official name of the united Ukrainian church is the "Orthodox Church of Ukraine" ("Ukrainian Orthodox Church" is allowed) and the name of its primate is "His Beatitude (name), Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine". The tomos of autocephaly of the OCU gives the name of the OCU as the "Most Holy Church of Ukraine".
History of Christianity in Ukraine
Although separated into various Christian denominations, most Ukrainian Christians share a common faith based on the Eastern Christianity. This tradition is represented in Ukraine by the Byzantine Rite, the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, which have been at various historic times closely aligned with Ukrainian national self-identity and Byzantine culture.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC; ; ), commonly referred to as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP, ) is a member of the Eastern Orthodox communion. It is one of two major Eastern Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies in modern Ukraine. It is a constituent part of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC); however, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the senior-most of all the Orthodox Churches and the mother church for the historical Russian Church, disputes the legality of the ROC's ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Ukraine, which in the modern era dates back to 1686. The current statutes of the ROC define it as a "self-governing [church] with the rights of wide autonomy". the status of the UOC-MP within the Moscow Patriarchate meant that it enjoyed full administrative independence from the ROC's Holy Synod, whereas the Primate of the UOC-MP was the most senior permanent member of the ROC's Holy Synod and thus had a say in its decision-making in respect of the rest of the ROC, including its administration in the Russian Federation.
Ukraine
Among those Ukrainians who declared to believe in Orthodoxy, 38.1% declared to be members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kievan Patriarchate (a body that is not canonically recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church), while 23.0% declared to be members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscovian Patriarchate (which is an autonomous Orthodox church under the Russian Orthodox Church). A further 2.7% were members of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which, like the Kievan Patriarchate, is not recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Among the remaining Orthodox Ukrainians, 32.3% declared to be "simply Orthodox", without affiliation to any patriarchate, while a further 3.1% declared that they "did not know" which patriarchate or Orthodox church they belonged to.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The number of parishes statistics seems to be more reliable and consistent even though it may not necessarily directly translate into the numbers of adherents. By number of parishes and quantity of church buildings, the UOC (MP)'s strong base is central and northernwestern Ukraine. However, percentage wise (with respect to rival Orthodox Churches) its share of parishes there varies from 60 to 70 percent. At the same time, by percentage alone (with respect to rival Orthodox Churches) the urban russophone southern and eastern Ukrainian provinces peak with up to 90 percent of church buildings. The same can be said about Transcarpathia, although there the UOC's main rival is the Greek Catholic Church and thus in all its share is only 40 percent. The capital Kiev is where the greatest Orthodox rivalry takes place, there the UOC (MP) has only half of the Orthodox communities. The only place where the UOC (MP) is a true minority, in both quantity, percentage and support are the former Galician provinces of Western Ukraine. There the total share of parishes does not exceed more than five percent. The UOC (MP) does not have any parishes abroad, as its followers identify themselves under the same umbrella as those of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Religion in Tajikistan
The next largest religious community is presumably Russian Orthodox, the historical faith of many Ukrainians as well as Russians. A cathedral in Dushanbe, St. Nicholas, serves the Orthodox community. By the end of the Soviet era, Tajikistan also was home to small numbers of people belonging to other Christian denominations, including Roman Catholics (originally most of them were from German origins, but also Tajiks), Seventh-Day Adventists, and Baptists. There also was a small Armenian minority, most of whose members belonged historically to the Armenian Apostolic (Gregorian) Church. Other religious groups included Zoroastrians and small numbers of Jews and Baha'is. The number of adherents to these minority religions probably decreased sharply in the 1990s because of the wave of emigration from Tajikistan in the early independence period.
Islam in Ukraine
Estimates of the Ukrainian Muslim population vary. Muslims make up only approximately 0.9% of the Ukrainian population, but as much as 12% in Crimea. According to the 2000 census Ukraine was home to 248,193 Crimean Tatars, 73,304 Volga Tatars, 45,176 Azeris, 12,353 Uzbeks, 8,844 Turks, 6,575 Arabs and 5,526 Kazakhs. The 2012 Freedom Report estimating a Muslim population of 500,000 in Ukraine, including 300,000 Crimean Tatars. A 2011 Pew Forum study estimated a Ukrainian Muslim population of 393,000, but the Clerical Board of Ukraine's Muslims claimed there were two million Muslims in Ukraine as of 2009. According to Said Ismagilov, the mufti of Ummah, in February 2016 one million Muslims lived in Ukraine.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
In 1988 with the millennium anniversary of the baptism of Rus, there was yet another shift in the Soviet attitude towards religion, coinciding with the Perestroika and Glasnost programmes. The Soviet Government publicly apologized for oppression of religion and promised to return all property to the rightful owners. As a result, thousands of closed religious buildings in all areas of the USSR were returned to their original owners. In Ukraine this was the then ROC's Ukrainian Exarchate, which took place in the central, eastern and southern Ukraine. In the former-uniate areas of western Ukraine things were more turbulent. As UGCC survived in diaspora and in the underground they took their chance and were immediately revived in Ukraine, where in the wake of general liberalization of the Soviet policies in the late-1980s also prompted the activization of Ukrainian national political movements. The Russian Orthodox Church became viewed by some as an attribute of Soviet domination, and bitter, often violent clashes over church buildings followed with the ROC slowly losing its parishes to the UGCC.
Ukrainian Brazilians
It should be also noticed that some Ukrainians were also Protestant, belonging to the Baptist and Pentecostals branch of Christianity. Originally coming from Volyn Region, they brought their Ukrainian traditions of worshipping God. The biggest church was the Russian Assembly of God (90% were Ukrainians and the rest Russians, Poles, Bielo Russians and few Lithuanians) based in São Paulo. It was founded around 1930 and led by Pr. Szymon Misiuk with branches in Arapongas -PR, Apucarana - PR, Curitiba - PR, Erexin and Santa Rosa - RS. São Caetano do Sul, in São Paulo State had a big concentration of Ukrainians as well and the First Ukrainian Baptist Church was established there by Rev. Dmitro Bucky. Many other churches were also based in São Paulo. The Ukrainian Protestants were not able to maintain their ethnic identity and with the oldtimers passing away, the new generation did not keep the tradition of services in Ukrainian language, churches disappeared or were turned into Brazilian churches, and Slavic connections disappeared.
Religion in Russia
Islam is the second largest religion in Russia after Orthodox Christianity. It is the historicaly dominant religion among some Caucasian ethnic groups (notably the Chechens, the Ingush and the Adyghe), and some Turkic peoples (notably the Tatars and the Bashkirs).
Religion in Ukraine
The size of the Jewish population of Ukraine has varied over time. Jews are primarily an ethnicity, closely linked with the religion of Judaism. Jews in Ukraine are estimated to be between 100 and 300 thousands. However, ethnic Jews may be irreligious or practise other religions than Judaism. It is estimated than only 35-40% of the Jewish population of Ukraine is religious. Most observant Jews are believers of Orthodox Judaism, but there are as well communities of Chabad-Lubavitch and Reform Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism.
Lviv
Lviv is a city of religious variety. Religion (2012): Catholic: 57% (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church 56% and Roman Catholic Church 1%) Orthodox: 32%, Protestantism: 2% Judaism : 0.1% Other religion: 3% Indifferent to religious matters: 4% Atheism: 1.9%
History of Christianity in Ukraine
The recent events of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and the Orange Revolution affected the religious affairs in the nation as well. The UOC (MP) actively supported the former Prime minister Viktor Yanukovych while members of the UOC-KP, UAOC, and UGCC supported the opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko, who was running against him. After Yushchenko's victory, the UOC (MP) criticised him for what they see as support of the "uncanonical organisations", such as his celebrating Orthodox Christmas in St Volodymyr's Cathedral (owned by UOC-KP). Yushchenko himself has publicly pledged to distance himself from Orthodox politics during his presidential campaign. Nonetheless, he claims that his intention is to achieve a unity of the nation's Eastern Orthodox Church affairs. Questions still arise on what will be the ecclesiastical status of the Church and who will head it, and as of February 2007 no public dialogue has begun.
Modern history of Ukraine
Despite the ongoing Soviet Union-wide antireligious campaign, the Ukrainian national Orthodox church was created called the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The Bolshevik government initially saw the national church as a tool in their goal to suppress the Russian Orthodox Church always viewed with the great suspicion by the regime for its being the cornerstone of pre-revolutionary Russian Empire and the initially strong opposition it took towards the regime change. Therefore, the government tolerated the new Ukrainian national church for some time and the UAOC gained a wide following among the Ukrainian peasantry.
Wołyń Voivodeship (1921–1939)
The primary religions practised in the area were Eastern Orthodox Christian (69.8%), Roman Catholic (15.7%) as well Judaism by the Jews (10%), Protestantism (2.6%) and the Islamic faith by the Tatars. With respect to the Orthodox Ukrainian population in eastern Poland, the Polish government initially issued a decree defending the rights of the Orthodox minorities. In practice, this often failed, as the Catholics, also eager to strengthen their position, had official representation in the Sejm and the courts. With time, some 190 Orthodox churches were destroyed or disassembled (many of them already abandoned), and 150 more were transformed into Roman Catholic churches. Such actions were condemned by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, metropolitan Andrei Sheptytsky, who claimed that these acts would "destroy in the souls of our non-united Orthodox brothers the very thought of any possible reunion."
Catholic Church in Ukraine
The majority of Catholics in Ukraine belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, while significant numbers of others belong to the Latin Church (known as Roman Catholic), Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, or Armenian Catholic Church.
Ukrainians
A 2016 survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre found that majority of Ukrainian populations was adhering to Christianity (81.9%). Of these Christians, 65.4% are Eastern Orthodox (25.0% of the Kiev Patriarchate and 15.0% of the Moscow Patriarchate and 1.8% of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, and 23.2% are simply Orthodox), 7.1% are simply Christians, 6.5% are Greek Catholics, 1.0% are Latin Rite Catholics and a further 1.9% are Protestants. As of 2016, 16.3% of the population does not claim a religious affiliation, and 1.7% adheres to other religions. According to the same survey, 70% of the population of Ukraine declared to be believers, while 6.3% declared to be non-believers, and 2.7% declared to be atheists.
Buddhism in Ukraine
Buddhism in Ukraine has existed since the 19th and 20th century, after immigration from countries with Buddhist populations, mainly North Vietnam and Korea under Communist period. Although sources are not readily available, Buddhists are believed to constitute 0.1% of the total population in Ukraine.
Religion in Ukraine
As of 2018, 87.4% of the population of Ukraine declared to believe in Christianity.
Islam in Ukraine
Sunni Islam of the Hanafi school is the largest non-Christian religion in Ukraine, and the majority of Ukrainian Muslims are Crimean Tatars. Other Turkic peoples indigenous to Ukraine, predominantly found in South and south-east Ukraine, practice other forms of Islam. These include Volga Tatars, Azeris, North Caucasian ethnic groups and Uzbeks. In 2012 an estimated 500,000 Muslims lived in Ukraine, including 300,000 Crimean Tatars. In February 2016 Said Ismagilov, the mufti of Ummah, counted one million Muslims in Ukraine.
Religion in Ukraine
Adherents of Oriental Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine are mainly ethnic Armenians. Historical ties between peoples of Ukraine and Armenia have resulted in significant presence of Armenian diaspora in Ukraine throughout history and up to the modern times. Most of ethnic Armenians in Ukraine are adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of main churches of the Oriental Orthodoxy, distinctive from Eastern Orthodoxy in terms of particular miaphysite christology. In spite of those theological differences, relations between Armenian Apostolic Church and various Eastern Orthodox Churches in Ukraine are friendly. There is an Armenian eparchy (diocese) in Ukraine, centered in Armenian Cathedral of Lviv, and also there are many Armenian churches and other monuments on the territory of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
As of 2006 the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had the allegiance of 10,875 registered religious communities in Ukraine (approximately 68 percent of all Orthodox Christian communities in the country), located mostly in central, eastern and southern regions and claims to be the largest religious body in terms of church property in Ukraine.
Baptists in Ukraine
Under the 1996 Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainians were given the right to free practice of religion. However, as a minority and non-traditional religion the Baptists have been subject to persecution and discrimination, including being arrested. The Government of Ukraine facilitates the building of houses of worship, and Baptists have difficulties with the local authorities in Kiev and other large cities while attempting to obtain land and building permits. Baptist leaders have criticized the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) for continuing to publicly referring to Baptists with the pejorative Ukrainian word ""sectanty"" ("sectarians"), and about the activities of the group "Dialogue," which Baptists and human rights groups characterized as a front for the UOC-MP that promoted hostility toward non-Orthodox Christians.
Religion in Ukraine
As of 2016, Islam was the religion of 1.1% of the population of Ukraine. Muslims are mostly concentrated in Donbass, where they make up 6.0% of the population. In the same year, there are 229 registered Islamic organizations. In Crimea, which in 2014 was annexed by Russia, Crimean Tatar Muslims make up to 15% of the population. A major part of the south steppes of modern Ukraine at a certain period of time were inhabited by Turkic peoples, most of whom were Muslims since the fall of the Khazar Khanate.
Demographics of Uruguay
Uruguay has no official religion, church and state are officially separated, and religious freedom is guaranteed. A 2008 survey by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística of Uruguay gave Catholicism as the main religion, with 45.7% of the population, 9.0% are non-Catholic Christians, 0.6% are Animists or Umbandists (an Afro-Brazilian religion) and 0.4% Jewish. 30.1% reported believing in a god, but not belonging to any religion, while 14% were Atheist or Agnostic. Among the sizeable Armenian community in Montevideo the dominant religion is Christianity, specifically Armenian Apostolic.
History of Christianity in Ukraine
The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kiev. It has remained the dominant religion in the country since its acceptance in 988 by Vladimir the Great (Volodymyr the Great), who brought it from Byzantine Crimea and instated it as the state religion of medieval Kievan Rus' (Ruthenia), with the metropolitan see in Kiev.
Religion in Ukraine
There are also communities belonging to the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church and other Old Believers, to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, to the Ruthenian Orthodox Church, to various branches of the True Orthodox Church-Catacombism (including the Ruthenian True Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian True Orthodox Church and the Church of the Goths), to the Romanian Orthodox Church (Metropolis of Bessarabia), to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church Canonical, and to a variety of other minor Christian Orthodox churches.
Religion in Ukraine
As of 2016, there are 2,973 Evangelical churches, 2,853 churches of the Baptists, 1,082 Seventh-day Adventist churches, 128 Calvinist churches, 79 Lutheran churches, 1,337 churches of Charismatic Christianity, and 1,347 other organizations belonging to the Protestant spectrum (including 928 Jehovah's Witnesses' halls and 44 Mormon congregations). In total, as of 2016 there are 9,799 registered Protestant groups in Ukraine.
Romani people in Ukraine
The presence of a Romani minority in Ukraine was first documented in the early 14th century. Romani maintained their social organizations and folkways, shunning non-Romani contacts, education and values, often as a reaction to anti-Romani attitudes and persecution. They adopted the language and faith of the dominant society being Orthodox in most of Ukraine, Catholic in Western Ukraine and Transcarpathia, and Islam in Crimea.
Autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine
On 9 April 2018, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had a meeting in Istanbul with the Ecumenical Patriarch during which Poroshenko "noted the importance of the introduction of a Single Local Orthodox Church in Ukraine aspired by the Ukrainian people". At that time, an article published on the pro-Moscow anonymous website "Union of Orthodox Journalists" declared that no relevant progress concerning the question of a local Orthodox church for Ukraine had been made.
On 17 April, Ukrainian President Poroshenko met in Turkey with the Ecumenical Patriarch and made an appeal, supported by various Ukrainian MPs, for the granting of autocephaly to Ukraine; both parties reached an agreement after a 7-hour long negotiation. The full appeal was later published on the official website of the president of Ukraine. The UOC-KP and the UAOC also sent a similar appeal to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in what Poroshenko described as "a rare united move of the two churches [the UOC-KP and the UAOC]". On 18 April, the draft resolution on the support of Poroshenko's appeal was submitted to the Ukrainian parliament, and on 19 April it was adopted. The text of the appeal of the Ukrainian parliament was longer and contained more arguments in favor of Ukraine's autocephaly compared to Poroshenko's appeal. On 20 April, the official request to issue a Tomos of Autocephaly was delivered to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. On the same day, 20 April, the synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate "voted to proceed with taking the necessary steps for granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine". On 22 April, the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued an official communiqué declaring that the synod had "examined matters pertaining to the ecclesiastical situation in Ukraine, as done in previous synodal sessions, and having received from ecclesiastical and civil authorities [...] a petition that requests the bestowal of autocephaly, decided to closely communicate and coordinate with its sister Orthodox Churches concerning this matter." The same day, President Poroshenko declared on his official Facebook page that "the Ecumenical Patriarchate had commenced the procedures necessary for granting autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church."
Religion in Kazakhstan
Christianity in Kazakhstan is the second most practiced religion after Islam. Most Christian citizens are Russians, and to a lesser extent Ukrainians and Belarusians, who belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to a 2009 national census, approximately 26% of the population of Kazakhstan identifies as Christian. 1.5 percent of the population is German, most of whom follow Catholicism or Lutheranism. There are also many Presbyterians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists, and Pentecostals. Methodists, Mennonites, and Mormons have also registered churches with the government. According to the 2009 census, there were 4,214,232 Christians in Kazakhstan. "Kazakhstan is the strange core of traditionalist Catholicism," Catholic writer Ross Douthat stated in 2018.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine (EPCU) was recognised as an independent national denomination on April 16, 2008 in Odessa, Ukraine. At of the time of organisation, the denomination had one presbytery comprising three particularised churches and 8 mission churches. As of 2012 the Evangelical Presbyterian Church has 12 churches and missions in various parts of Ukraine. The EPCU was started by missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in America in the early 1990s. Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church in Kiev has been the largest congregation. There are congregations in 9 various cities.
Slavic Native Faith
In Ukraine, there has been a debate as to whether the religion should be monotheistic or polytheistic. In keeping with the pre-Christian belief systems of the region, the groups who inherit Volodymyr Shaian's tradition, among others, espouse polytheism. Conversely, Sylenko's Native Ukrainian National Faith (RUNVira; also called "Sylenkoism") regards itself as monotheistic and focuses its worship upon a single God who they identify with the name Dazhbog. For members of this group, Dazhbog is regarded as the life-giving energy of the cosmos.
Ukrainian Village, Chicago
St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral represents , the dominant religion in Ukraine. It has served new immigrants who have left Ukraine since the fall of the Soviet Union. Although Orthodox in faith, the Cathedral is under the UOCUSA, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and has no affiliation with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine
The Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Ukraine, as part of the Russian Empire, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847. Following the Ukrainian diasporas, succeeding generations of ethnic Ukrainians became Bahá'ís and some have interacted with Ukraine previous to development of the religion in the country. There are currently around 1000 Bahá'ís in Ukraine, in 13 communities.
Native Ukrainian National Faith
Among Sylenkoite organisations, the "Associations of Sons and Daughters of Ukraine of the Native Ukrainian National Faith" (OSIDU RUNVira) is that which has maintained direct relationship with Sylenko, fully accepting him as prophet. As of the mid-2000s the organisations' leader was Bohdan Savchenko. They consider themselves a transformed and completed Ukrainian Native Faith, focusing on the monotheistic belief in the impersonal Dazhbog (literally "Giving God"), the life-giving energy of the cosmos.
Protestantism in Ukraine
Presbyterian missionaries of the Presbyterian Church in America worked in the Odessa region, in Kharkiv, Kherson, Kiev and Mykolaiv. Today the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Ukraine has 12 congregations and 11 national ordained pastors with expanding missions in Western Ukraine. The biggest churches are in Odessa and in Kiev. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ukraine was officially organised in April 16, 2008 in the Presbyterian church in Odessa at a celebration service.
Majority minority
Ukraine
Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kiev Patriarchate (UOC-KP; (UPTs-KP)) was one of three major Orthodox churches in Ukraine, alongside the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (which is a part of the Russian Orthodox Church), and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). On December 15, 2018 bishops and delegates from the three branches of Orthodoxy in Ukraine unified in a council. Metropolitan Epiphanius I (a former bishop of the Kiev Patriarchate) was elected as “Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine” and became the primate of the new Orthodox Church of Ukraine.