KYIV: Hundreds of believers filled the cathedral for an Orthodox Christmas and heard a service in Ukrainian for the first time in decades. It is a demonstration of independence from the Russian Orthodox Church.

Richly decorated with gilded icons and plaques, the cathedral is part of a UNESCO World Heritage-listed complex known as the Monastery of the Caves, with a freezing point of -10 degrees Celsius (14 floors)​ Despite the low temperature, he stood tall.

The cathedral and monastery complex overlooking the right bank of the Dnieper has been a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Also, for the first time in his 31 years since Ukraine's independence, services were held in Ukrainian. Ukrainian soldiers in uniform sang, among other things, the famous Ukrainian Christmas carols.

The Ukrainian government on Thursday took over control of the Assumption Cathedral in Kyiv's Pechersk Monastery, allowing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to use it for Orthodox Christmas services. The move highlights long-standing tensions between the two churches, exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine.

Built nearly 1,000 years ago and rebuilt in the 1990s after being destroyed in World War II, the cathedral was formerly under the control of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which was associated with the Russian Orthodox Church. Oksana Abu Aker praised the severing of ties with Russia as an important step for Orthodox believers after Russia started the war more than 10 months ago, calling it "the first victory for Ukraine." It is," he said.

“This is the first time in 300 years that we have a dedicated service here," Ukraine's Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko said on Thursday that the cathedral was taken over by the state after the church's lease associated with Moscow expired on Dec. 31. Tkachenko attended Saturday's service. Previously, this place on Ukrainian territory within Kyiv was connected with Moscow. Now we feel this is ours. This is Ukrainian. This is part of the Ukrainian state, ”said Alex Fesiak, who attended the service.

“Those who held us in captivity could not endure our achievements and our success,” he said. Natalia Levshyna said her husband couldn`t come to the Christmas service as he is fighting on the front line, but she will send him photos of the service as it`s very important to him. Originally from Donbas, she said she stopped attending the church of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and supported the conflict in the eastern part of Ukraine. “Our emotions are running high,” she said, barely holding back tears, describing her conviction that the Ukrainian church on Ukrainian soil should be independent of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Others in Ukraine have decided to distance themselves from the Russian Orthodox Church by celebrating Christmas on Dec. 25. On Friday, the Church of Moscow Patriarchate condemned the Ukrainian plans to hold a service in the Kyiv cathedral as ”an attempt to forcefully seize ...

In 2019, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine received recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, but Moscow`s patriarch refused to accept that.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared independence from Moscow’s Patriarchate after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, ending the Ukrainian church’s loyalty to the Moscow patriarch which dated back to the 17th century. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church removed Moscow Patriarch Kirill as its leader in public worship and now uses its own sacramental oil for blessings rather than oil supplied by Moscow.

But Ukrainian security agencies have claimed that some in the Ukrainian church have maintained close ties with Moscow. They’ve raided numerous holy sites of the church and later posted photos of rubles, Russian passports and leaflets with messages from the Moscow patriarch as proof that some church officials have been loyal to Moscow.

Prominent Ukrainian Orthodox Church leaders have rejected the allegations of ties with Moscow, insisting that they have loyally supported Ukraine from the start of the war and that a government crackdown will only hand a propaganda coup to Russia.