The Orthodox Church of Ukraine on the inter-Orthodox agenda at Amman: the dynamics of ecclesiastical recognition

Abstract

ABSTRACT In February 2020 representatives of Orthodox churches met in Amman, Jordan to discuss the situation of Orthodoxy in Ukraine. The Amman meeting offers a snapshot of the inner dynamics and tensions in world Orthodoxy, where the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU) currently is a central concern. It sheds light on challenges facing the OCU and its capacity to pursue wider recognition through relationships and communion. After introducing the concepts of recognition and communion, the author examines the preparations, proceedings, and significance of the meeting in Amman. He concludes with a reflection on: (1) how Amman helps to situate the controversy around the OCU’s recognition squarely in the context of international Orthodoxy, and (2) why it is urgent for the churches in Ukraine and Russia to replace divisive speech and action with a renewed commitment to inter-Orthodox communion as an ethical imperative. Despite the polarization arising from the Russia–Ukraine conflict, the two churches face similar challenges in protecting their autonomous moral agency in the public sphere from political co-optation.