SUCHO Meme Wall Church
Memes about the church will often use the image of Metropolitan Pavel, who was the figurehead of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Before 2018, Orthodox Ukrainian were typically served by the Patriarchate of Moscow, headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On January 5, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople granted the Orthodox Church of Ukraine autocephaly, meaning it would form its own patriarchate (Wikipedia page at first link below). The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, however, remained loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate. Metropolitan Pavel has come under criticism for his ties to Russia, culminating in his arrest (news article at second link below). Memes about the church will often refer either to Metropolitan Pavel or Patriarch Kirill, incriminating both for their ties to Russia and their use of religion to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.