KYIV – The leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate says steps toward independence from Moscow must be carried out carefully to avoid giving the Kremlin a pretext for further Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory.

Patriarch Filaret’s statement came after a synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople chaired by Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is considered the leader of the 300-million-strong worldwide Orthodox community, decreed on October 11 to “proceed to the granting of autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine.”