In the era of globalization, the norms fixed in the secular worldview, but outdated from the point of view of today, are being destroyed, therefore relations between the state and the church are becoming more complicated. Under such conditions, the problem of reviewing the interaction between them and finding such a model that would contribute to the socio-political development of Ukraine emerges acutely. It is quite clear that the task can be solved only at the highest, global level, where political institutions play a leading role.
The growing importance of religious and political factors in Ukrainian society requires a rethinking of the phenomena and processes associated with them, which actualizes the outlined problems and conditions its detailed analysis and research. For modern Ukraine, the formation of its own independent church is a matter of national security, mental affirmation of the pro-Ukrainian orientation of national self-identification, the prestige of the state in the international arena, and most importantly, the possibility of consolidation of citizens around the single Orthodox Church, which is the largest denomination in the country. However, the separation of Ukrainian Orthodoxy into several jurisdictions nullifies this process.
The processes of secularization of society led to the spiritual crisis of a person as an individual due to his ignoring traditional values and worldview concepts. The desacralization of social space has become an internal problem of the Church, which can be solved only in the conditions of Orthodox unity. The most important element for ensuring the latter is the religious policy of the state, which will contribute to the strengthening of the Ukrainian political nation and the formation of civil society. In addition, state policy in the religious sphere must meet the demands of Ukrainians, the current religious situation in the country, and the European dimension of Ukraine's future.
The role of the institutions of the presidency, parliamentarism, executive power, citizenship and political parties in the formation of religious policy and the autocephalous process in Ukraine is characterized; the legislative acts of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which provide control over the observance of rights in the sphere of freedom of conscience and religion and are oriented towards solving inter-religious confrontations through dialogue, are analyzed; it is proved that the religious policy of the presidents of Ukraine, despite the selective approach in observing the principle of equality of religions, was aimed at overcoming church division and contributed to the unity and independence of Ukrainian Orthodoxy; analyzed the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which directed its actions to increase the level of trust between the state and the church, conducting a constant dialogue to overcome inter-confessional contradictions; the role of civil society institutions in the constitution of the Local Church of Ukraine is clarified by drawing attention to autocephalous issues and influence on political processes.
The thesis about the role of autocephaly as a mechanism of adaptation of the church to the political geography of the state is clarified. It has been proven that the church has always been a component of the state environment, which cannot exist without people who are citizens of a certain country, with its laws and norms of life.
The genesis and modern interpretations of the political concept of the "Russian world" have been studied, in particular its content and the place of the religious factor in the implementation of this doctrine have been clarified. It was established that "Russian peace" is a political project, the main goal of which is the development of civilization based on the following integration features: language and culture; historical memory and values related to this common historical memory; Orthodoxy; loyalty to today's Russian state, which aspires to act within the country and on the international arena as the rightful successor of the Russian statesmanship tradition, the organic components of which are the Russian Empire and the USSR. The understanding that the Russian side uses political mechanisms to keep the issue of autocephaly open for a long time and to be a destabilizing factor in religious-political relations in Ukraine has deepened.
