At least two bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) have instructed their priests to stop praying for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in the sacred liturgy. Patriarch Kirill has responded by declaring the action to be an act of schism.

Until recently, Ukraine’s Orthodox faithful were divided into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate), and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, with only the first canonically recognized by other Orthodox churches. In 2018, the latter two bodies united to form the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, granted canonical recognition to the OCU in 2019—a decision condemned by the Russian Orthodox Church.