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But neither church is autocephalous, or independent: one answers to Moscow, the other to Bucharest.

Ukraine has about 30 million Orthodox believers, divided between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and two other Orthodox Churches, one of which is the autocephalous, or self-governing, Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

While that sounds definitive, the church didn’t declare itself “autocephalous” — the Orthodox gold standard of independence.

Four of the world’s 15 Eastern Orthodox self-governing or autocephalous churches have recognised the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, away from the sphere of Moscow’s influence.

“He preserved the standing of the Church of Cyprus as autocephalous, away from any external influence or dependence,” Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told a funeral congregation which included Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world’s 300 million Eastern Orthodox Christians.