ISSN 2520-6265 (print)
ISSN 2520-6273 (online)
“FIFTH COLUMN” IN UKRAINE: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THEIR RESPONSES
Author:
V. O. Vasiutynskyi, DSc. in Psychology Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher,
Dpt. of Mass and Communities Psychology,
Institute for Social and Political Psychology, NAES of Ukraine
ORCID: 0000-0002-9808-4550
Scopus ID: 57213606129
E-mail: vadymvas55@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/upj.2025.2(24).1
Article Information
Issue: 2(24) 2025, pages: 9-26
Language: Ukrainian
Received: 15.10.2025
1st Revision: 18.10.2025
Accepted: 21.10.2025
The current complex and controversial situation in which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has appeared pose potential threats to civil peace. This Church is often accused in pro-Russian attitudes characteristic for its leadership and followers, and this fact has gained particular significance because of Russia’s military aggression. The article presents the performed empirical study on psychological aspects of changes in UOC parishioners’ confessional and political preferences, as well as how they assessed the problematic nature of relations with the rest of Ukrainian society and with state authorities.
Semi-structured interviews were used to survey 150 UOC parishioners: per 50 respondents from each of three small towns located in the Vinnytsia (central part of Ukraine), Volyn (western), and Dnipropetrovsk (eastern) regions. The respondents were asked to evaluate the Church’s status as independent and Ukrainian, its legal and canonical connection to the Moscow Patriarchate, what authorities were responsible for making decisions, influential individuals or groups involved in the Church’s issues, and a possibility of returning under the Moscow Patriarchate in the future.
The respondents’ answers were processed using thematic analysis and structured through cluster analysis; data from separate groups were compared using the χ² coefficient. The findings generalization revealed the following views of UOC parishioners: adherence to Ukrainization of rituals combined with uncertainty; support for linguistic and canonical Ukrainization of the Church; expectations for a radical break with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC); predominant indecisiveness; readiness to join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) at a community level; desire to maintain or restore affiliation with the ROC; minimized or masked pro-ROC attitudes; defense of the Church’s nominal belonging to Ukrainian interests; recognition that implemented changes were sufficient; passive-compromising submission to circumstances.
Key words: confessional preferences of UOC parishioners, signs of Ukrainization in the UOC, attitudes toward the Moscow Patriarchate, pro-Ukrainian attitudes of UOC parishioners, pro-Russian attitudes of UOC parishioners, moderate attitudes of UOC parishioners, undecided attitudes of UOC parishioners, actors involved in decisions about the UOC status.
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