ABSTRACT
The autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, granted in 2019, was contested by the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian government, and their supporters in Ukraine. This chapter analyzes rival texts of church public history in Ukraine from pro-autocephaly and antiautocephaly sources. In a place where societal practices of sacralization and the political securitization of identity are intersubjective, influential, and dynamic, this case of interdenominational contestation and its broader security context invite exploration of the concept of the sacralization of history. The analysis indicates that avoiding rhetorical or political sacralization, even in an ecclesiastical context, may be a better means of protecting the private experience of the sacral in religious motivation and practice.
