Regarding a split in the Ukrainian churches

My inquiry about the split in the Ukrainian churches received this AI response:

The schism between Ukrainian Orthodoxy and the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is the result of centuries of linguistic and political friction that came to a head with Russia's aggression against 

Ukraine

. While the two sides share the same Eastern Orthodox theological roots, their positions on national identity, independence, and the language of worship became irreconcilable. 

Key players in the Orthodox split

Several factions existed in Ukraine before the final unification of a new national church in 2018. The main division was between those with strong pro-Ukrainian stances and those who maintained loyalty to Moscow. 

• Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU): The OCU was officially granted independence (autocephaly) from Moscow by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2019. It was formed by a unification of Ukrainian breakaway churches, including the formerly unrecognized Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). The OCU is aligned with the Ukrainian state and supports national independence.
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC): Until May 2022, this was the Ukrainian branch of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and the largest Orthodox church in Ukraine. It remained under the spiritual authority of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, but in 2022, it formally declared its independence from Russia following the invasion. However, this new independent status is not recognized by other Orthodox churches. 

The critical role of language

The use of language in worship was a key point of division that reflected the deeper political and national identities of the two factions. 

	Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU)	Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC/UOC-MP)
Language in services	Uses Ukrainian, reflecting a pro-Ukrainian stance and rejection of Russian influence. In contrast to Russian churches, Ukrainian Orthodoxy has historically borrowed less from Old Church Slavonic.	Historically, used Church Slavonic, the liturgical language favored by the Russian Orthodox Church. However, since the break with Moscow in 2022, the UOC has begun using more Ukrainian.
Worship style	Though the theology and basic Byzantine Rite liturgy are the same across Orthodox churches, the OCU uses language and other local customs that differentiate it from the Russian church.	Follows the same fundamental theology and liturgy as other Eastern Orthodox churches.
National identity	Strongly connected to Ukrainian national identity and independence. It was founded on the principle of a "one country, one church" model common among Orthodox nations.	Until 2022, the Moscow Patriarchate and its supporters in the UOC-MP did not accept a separate Ukrainian identity and regarded Ukrainians and Russians as one people. After declaring independence in 2022, the UOC leadership denounced the Russian invasion and severed ties with Moscow.

Political factors in the schism

The split in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was largely driven by political events, beginning with Russia's aggression in 2014 and culminating with the full-scale invasion in 2022. 

• Russian interference: For many years, the UOC-MP was viewed with suspicion by Ukrainian nationalists, who saw it as an instrument of Russian influence. Following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion, the ROC and its patriarch, Kirill, openly supported the Kremlin, which solidified the view that the Moscow-linked church was a tool of Russian state policy.
• Ukrainian independence: The move toward an independent church was seen by Ukrainian leaders as a critical step in breaking free from Russia's political, economic, and religious dominance. It was a key element in consolidating Ukrainian national identity, which the Russian state had long denied.
• Ecumenical recognition: Ukraine actively sought recognition for its new church from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the historical spiritual center of global Orthodoxy. The decision to grant autocephaly to the new OCU was a major theological and political setback for the Russian Orthodox Church, which lost a large number of its parishes in the process.