A rising schism within the Russian Orthodox Church over the Ukraine conflict threatens to destabilise Vladimir Putin. President Putin regards the Russian Orthodox faith as one of his country’s most powerful soft forces, and he has formed a close personal partnership with the Church’s leader, Patriarch Kirill. Patriarch Kirill even praised the invasion at the start of the war, converting a military battle into a “holy war” in the eyes of many Russians.

However, a renowned religious expert has warned that President Putin’s hold on power may be shaken if more Orthodox Church priests express their displeasure with the conflict.

The Russian Orthodox Church is seeing a mass exodus from its churches in Ukraine, where it retains a significant presence.

Dr Sergii Bortnyk, an adviser to the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine, told the BBC that half of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine’s 12,000 parishes are already debating seceding from Moscow.

According to Catherine Pepinster, a former editor of The Tablet, the war is placing a “great burden” on the Russian Orthodox Church and its 90 million adherents.

“It is especially putting hardship on members of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine,” stated the former editor of the Catholic weekly.

“There is already an autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church.”

“We are now seeing more and more priests from the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine believe that what Patriarch Kirill is doing by embracing and praising the conflict – thus calling it a holy war – is utterly inappropriate, and they, too, are discussing separating.”

“I read today that half of Ukraine’s 12,000 parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church may secede, so this is really important.”

“There are also some Orthodox priests in Russia who are becoming increasingly concerned about what is occurring, but it’s quite rare.”

“Many Orthodox Church officials in Russia regard Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia as part of a single holy location, to which they all belong.”

“They talk about Ukraine as if it were a little brother to Russia.”

According to BBC Dateline anchor Shaun Ley, a breakaway group of priests from Russia’s Orthodox Church called the invasion a “fratricidal war.”

“It might derail Patriarch Kirill’s spiritual aim to unify the church in the two nations, just as it could derail his backer Vladimir Putin’s political ambition,” he added.

One Russian based priest, speaking on the basis of anonymity, told Al Jazeera this week: “The war is a catastrophe and a crime of enormous proportions.

“This is a complete violation of the commandments of God. And we, Russians, will have to answer for this and compensate for all the destruction.”