Analysis-Ukraine invasion splits Orthodox Church, isolates Russian patriarch

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on the day of the 11th anniversary of his enthronement in Moscow, Russia February 1, 2020. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Russian Patriarch Kirill's full-throated blessing for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that experts say is unprecedented.

Kirill, 75, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, sees the war as a bulwark against a West he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality.