In reply to Basil Biberdorf.

Rev. Biberdorf,

Thank you for reading and for your comment. All of this history and these shifting political lines are hard to follow, so I'm very open to hearing that I've been imprecise somewhere.

However, I'm trying to understand where I have presented a factual inaccuracy. My understanding is that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine formed in 2019 by declaration of Constantinople, combining two Ukrainian Orthodox church bodies which had already declared their independence from Russia in the early 1990s. The current Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine (UOC-Moscow Patriarchate), as I understand it, formed around that exact same time (90s), leaving itself under the authority of Russia.

My article refers to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine when I say "Ukrainian Orthodox Church," but this seems to be standard nomenclature. I did not have space in this article to get into all of the dynamics between the UOC and the UOC-MP simply because that was not the focus of the article, and I don't have a precise knowledge of the history of these bodies. I do mention "regular raids of monasteries and churches within [Ukraine's] borders that remain loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate."

Please let me know if I am missing anything and I would be happy to clarify the article; however, it seems to me that the church body granted autocephaly by Constantinople being "upstart" and "schismatic" is a matter of pious opinion rather than fact. And in any case, I don't think where these lines are drawn affects the point of my article.

I don't deny at all that Lutherans and all Christians have shared the Orthodox Church's struggles with faith, national politics and identity. I am grateful for our Lutheran theology that teaches me that failures in our leadership and institutions over the years are to be expected, and that I need not place my ultimate trust or hope in any human institution.