Uniate Churches in Kazakhstan Help Ukrainians There Retain Identity and Orthodox There to Pursue Autocephaly

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 12 – There are only six Greek Catholic (Uniate) churches in Kazakhstan and some of them do not even have their own facilities but must use Roman Catholic ones, but these churches are playing two important roles by helping ethnic Ukrainians retain their identity and assisting Orthodox in Kazakhstan to escape Moscow’s oversight.
    The first of these roles is highlighted in a new article in Novaya Gazeta which discusses how Ukrainians in Kazakhstan, some who were sent there during Stalin’s times and others who moved there later, have turned to this church to retain their identity as Ukrainians (novayagazeta.eu/articles/2025/01/12/tam-splosh-58-ia-statia).
    The second which involves the shift of believers from the Russian Orthodox Church in Kazakhstan who do not want to be subordinate to Moscow has been described by the SibReal portal at sibreal.org/a/smenit-moskvu-na-konstantinopol/33004030.html and discussed in more detail at windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/07/orthodox-in-kazakhstan-seeking.html).
    The ROC MP likely views these two roles as complementary and re-enforcing but it appears that they are really separate with the ethnic Ukrainians viewing these churches as a defense of their identity and only Russian Orthodox who want to escape Moscow’s rule viewing them otherwise.
    Nonetheless, it is entirely possible that because of Moscow’s concerns, these churches could become yet another flashpoint in relations between the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.