
Ukrainian new head of Ukrainian Orthodox church Metropolitan Epiphanius speaks during a closed-door synod of three Ukrainian Orthodox churches to approve the charter for a unified church and to elect leadership in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. Ukrainian Orthodox leaders on Saturday approved the creation of a unified church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate and elected a leader to head the new church, officials said. The leader of the new autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox church will be Epiphanius, a 39-year-old bishop from the Kiev Patriarchate. (Credit: Mikhail Palinchak, Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Pool Photo via AP.)