Kiev-loyal Orthodox church doubtful of its future in Crimea

SIMFEROPOL, Crimea/KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Orthodox Christians who are loyal to Kiev feel increasingly unsafe in Crimea after Russia's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula and some have already left, church leaders said on Monday.

Since the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the advent of an independent Ukraine, the country's Orthodox faithful have been split between the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchates. The much larger Moscow-based Church does not recognise its Kiev-based rival, which is not part of the global Orthodox communion.