Nearly a half of Ukrainian Orthodox support the unified Local Orthodox Church – a poll

The Razumkov Center has presented the results of a sociological study of Ukraine's attitude to some religious leaders and the establishment of the one local Orthodox Church.

64.7% of Ukrainians consider themselves Orthodox. The largest number of Orthodox (39.5%) identify themselves as faithful of the UOC Kyiv Patriarchate. The second large group (25.4%) consider themselves “just Orthodox,” 23.3% consider themselves faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). 4.8% of the Orthodox are the faithful of the UAOC, and 1.3% - directly attributed themselves to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Of all respondents, 8.2% consider themselves Greek Catholics; 1.2% - Protestants, and 0.8% - Roman Catholics. 12.7% of respondents identify themselves as “just Christians.”

Patriarch Filaret enjoys the highest trust among the respondents. 39.1% of Ukrainians fully or partially trust him, while 12.9% do not fully trust or mistrust him. 23.5% do not know him.

Patriarch Sviatoslav, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is fully or partially trusted by 24.7% of respondents, while 11.5% mistrust or do not fully trust him. At the same time, 39.5% do not know him.

41.2% of respondents do not know Metropolitan Makariy (UAOC). 20.3% completely or partially trust him; while 13.4% mistrust or do not fully trust him.

20.7% completely or partially trust Metropolitan Onufriy (UOC (MP)). 26.0% mistrust him completely or partially. 31.0% of respondents do not know him.

44.3% of Ukrainian citizens consider themselves Orthodox, support “the necessity to set up in Ukraine the one Local Orthodox Church independent from other religious centers outside Ukraine.” 25% do not support this idea, 30.7% are undecided.

46.2% of Ukrainian who identify themselves as Orthodox, support "Ukraine’s Parliament appeal to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew requesting autocephaly (self-governance) of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.” 18.5% do not support; 35.3% found it difficult to answer.

21.6% of Orthodox believe if the Ukrainian Orthodox Church rises, it should be led by Patriarch Filaret of Kyiv and All Rus-Ukraine, the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate. 15.6% see as a head a “person to be appointed by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.” 6.6% Ukrainian Orthodox see Metropolitan Onufriy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in this role. 2.9% believe that the unified church should be led by Metropolitan Makariy, head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). Orthodox 52.8% found it difficult to answer this question.

The survey was conducted by the Razumkov Centre on November 4 through 9, 2016. 2018 respondents aged 18 were interviewed in all regions of Ukraine, except Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions with a sample representative of the adult population of Ukraine for the main socio-demographic indicators. The sample survey was constructed as a multi-stage, random with quota sampling of respondents in the last stage. The survey was conducted in 118 settlements (67 urban - and 51 rural). Theoretical sampling error (excluding design effect) does not exceed 2.3% with a probability of 0.95.