Why President Zelensky Declared Spiritual Independence
A Brief Look at the Ancient History and Context
President Zelensky announced in his nightly address on December 1, 2022 that Ukraine was declaring its “Spiritual Independence” which is targeted mainly at the Russian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (ROC-MP). The decision was made after a meeting of the Ukraine National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) chaired by President Zelensky with Secretary Oleksiy Danilov having responsibility for day-to-day management and decisions (If you want to see how it is organized and run, check Wikipedia). There are scholars and experts who can give a much more detailed history including all the nuances of what this issue entails. The objective of this article is to lay it out as simply as possible so that the English-speaking world has a basic understanding of the issues and facts. The writer is in no way affiliated with any US, Ukrainian governments or other institutions but is an Orthodox Christian.
The Eastern Orthodox Church is enigmatic in its spirituality and rituals. However, it is rather clear and democratic in its canonical laws with recorded history of meetings and decisions going back to its establishment in Jerusalem under the Apostles. Officially, Orthodoxy was recognized by Constantine the Great with the Constantine and Licinius’s Edict of Milan in 313 A.D. This took place in Byzantium which became Constantinople and is now Istanbul. St. Andrew-the-First-Called had established the See of Byzantium in 38 A.D. when he visited the city. St. Andrew in his travels throughout the region is said to have sailed up the Dnipro River and visited the location that is now Kyiv, blessing the land that is now Ukraine from a hill overlooking the river. However, Christianity would not make great inroads into Slavic lands until 864 A.D. in Bulgaria and 988 A.D. in Kyivan Rus. From here we will go to a timeline to keep it simple.
Late 950’s A.D. Olga of Kyiv while serving as Regent (first female ruler of Kyiv) travels to Constantinople and is formally baptized (reports show she was possibly baptized in Kyiv in 955A.D.) into the Eastern Orthodox Church by Emperor Constantine VII and the Patriarch of Constantinople (Unnamed). Olga of Kyiv becomes officially the first Christian monarch. Her son, Sviatoslav for who she serves as Regent refuses to convert to Christianity and maintains his Slavic paganism while agreeing not to persecute those who do convert. Olga builds churches in Kyiv, Pskov (now Russia) and other locations. Kyivan Rus lands extend from Crimea to Kyiv and as far north as the Baltic Sea encompassing almost all of what is now Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, along with what is now Novgorod, St. Petersburg and Moscow. Moscovy (Moscow) does not yet exist as place other than back woods wilderness.
988 A.D. Volodymyr the Great (grandson of Olga of Kyiv), a pagan ruler, converts to Christianity and is baptized in Chersonesos in Crimea (wait, Crimea is Russian?). Volodymyr marries Princess Anna, daughter of Emperor Basil II of Constantinople becoming the first “barbarian” to marry into the great monarchy of Byzantium. In 991, Volodymyr establishes the city of Belgorod (now in Russia). Moscovy (Moscow) does not yet exist as place other than back woods wilderness.
1019 A.D. through 1054 A.D. Yaroslav the Wise, son of Volodymyr the Great takes control of Kyivan Rus after some bloody business with his brothers. He is Eastern Orthodox Christian and oversees what is known as the “Golden Age” of Kyivan Rus. Yaroslav the Wise marries Princess Ingegerd Olofsdotter (Anna), daughter of King Olaf of Sweden (wait, Ukraine is part of Russia or Europe?). Yaroslav expands the empire into parts of what is now Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. He the builds the famous St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv (still standing) along with many other monasteries and churches on lands that are now Belarus and Russia. Yaroslav’s daughter, Elisiv of Kyiv marries King Harald III of Norway becoming Queen Consort. Anastasia of Kyiv, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise and Queen Ingegered marries King Andrew the White of Hungary and becomes Queen Consort. Muscovy Who? Still doesn’t exist.
1051 A.D. Anne of Kyiv also known as Anna Yaroslavna, the youngest daughter of Yaroslav the Wise and Queen Ingegerd marries King Henry I of France and becomes Queen of France. Queen Anne rules France as Regent upon the death of King Henry I in 1060. Wait, she didn’t have to covert of Catholicism to marry a French king? Well, Catholicism as we know it, did not exist as it was still part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Yes, the Patriarch of Rome existed but he was the same as all the other Patriarchs with the exception of the Patriarch of Constantinople who is known as the “First, among equals”. Wait! The Ukrainians are Russians or Europeans, I am confused? The daughters of Yaroslav the Wise oversaw and ruled or held partial authority over vast swathes of Europe yet they are Russian? Where is Muscovy? I don’t know, think it’s a pile of mud over there somewhere.
1054 A.D. Yaroslav the Wise dies. The Great Schism happens when Romes excommunicates the Eastern Orthodox Church via a Papal Bull and Constantinople does the same with Rome. This doesn’t really have a major effect for a number of years but builds over time. It is just a note in the history of Christianity in Ukraine but later the effects will come into play. Muscovy what? I don’t know, Ruslan, never heard of it.
1054–1169 A.D.. This was the decline of Kyivan Rus but the Eastern Orthodox Church still held prominence throughout the lands. Kyiv’s power declined while its offshoot, the Republic of Novgorod grew. Novgorod was primarily ruled by the Archbishop of the Diocese of Novgorod who was subordinate to Kyiv even after its decline. Muscovy? Yea, in 1147 A.D. we heard about it. I think it’s a village on the river but can’t tell you much more than that.
1200’s A.D. Bad times for Kyiv. The Fourth Crusade sacked Constantinople. The Mongols were taking over everything. Kyivan Rus had split into constituent parts and was ruled by various other European Principalities. Orthodox Christianity was still the predominant faith. Bulgaria had been granted autocephaly in 919 A.D. with its own Patriarch while the larger and more powerful Kyivan Rus never received one even though it was the center of Orthodoxy of the Slavic lands for some 300 years. How’d that happen? Nobody can explain it other than Kyivan Rus which technically, got the short end of the stick.
1263 A.D. The founding of the Grand Duchy of Muscovy (Moscow) by Daniel I, son of Alexander Nevsky, who did it to create a principality and payer of taxes to the Mongol Empire so well, keeo those Mongols out of Novgorod, son, ok? Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky was Grand Prince of Kyiv and Prince of Novgorod which was created by Kyivan Rus. Let’s look at the line. Kyivan Rus creates Novgorod who then creates the Grand Duchy of Moscow. You see why Ukraine is suffering now? You see why Moscow is trying to destroy it?
1547 A.D. Nothing great happened from the fall and decline of Kyivan Rus until now. The Orthodox Church still existed. Roman Catholics made inroads into Western Ukraine. Western Europe was rising in power and influence. Ivan IV declared himself Tsar of All Rus which later became Russia which was derived from the original Kyivan Rus. Ivan IV is called “Ivan the Great” and as “Ivan the Terrible” in other parts of the world. Killed his son and prayed in the new churches of Muscovy that he built. So, Rus or what is Russia is actually part of Kyivan Rus thus Russia is not really Russia but Ukraine (confusing huh?).
1589 A.D. Wikipedia seems to be wrong because they state that the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC-MP) was established by St. Andrew-the-Apostle in where, Kyiv! Wait, they go on to say that the Christianization of the Rus in Kyiv is where it all started. The ROC-MP is given autocephaly and the title of Patriarchy because well, they bribed the Ecumenical Patriarch who was short on cash at the moment. You can’t make this mess up!
We have traveled nearly through 600 years of history already and now you can see the origins of this quagmire. This is the ancient history of why President Zelensky has declared “Spiritual Independence. The Ukrainians have been stepped on, cast aside, starved by Stalin, burnt in ovens by Hitler or shot in ravines and well, they’ve had enough. Big powers said give up your nukes and you’ll be free. Nope! Now, in a war, there are still churches in Ukraine that are run and financed by the ROC-MP that are spreading information that Ukraine (Kyivan Rus) never existed and must be terminated. Yes! Right now, on the territory of Ukraine there are priests, nuns, monks, and others telling poor, cold, hungry Ukrainians that they have no right to exist nor does their state. Old grandmas are paying for candles and giving money from their Ukrainian pensions to these institutions while being told Ukraine should not exist. The influence of these spiritual leaders upon the people is monumental because of the ingrained influence of Orthodox Christianity over these lands for more than a millennium.
The years from 1600 A.D. on are also filled with how Ukraine has been suppressed culturally, spiritually, economically, and politically. Do you get the picture as to why Ukraine now claims and needs Spiritual Independence? Do you get why the Ukrainians are headstrong in their desire to take back all their lands? Look, if they wanted to make a historical case, the Ukrainians could claim sovereignty over most of Eastern Europe. They don’t want that. They just want what was theirs since 1991 and they are just done with Russian influence in all spheres of life. The crimes go deep and could fill volumes of scholarly books. Please investigate further if you want to know more.
Slava Ukraina!
