levels of self-government. The autonomous churches which are part of the ROC are: Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), a special status autonomy close to autocephaly Self-governed churches (Estonia, Latvia, Moldova) Belarusian Orthodox Church, an exarchate Pakistan Orthodox Church Metropolitan District of Kazakhstan Japanese Orthodox Church Chinese Orthodox Church Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox churches in Western Europe Although the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) claims that ‘any provisions that at least somehow hinted at or indicated the connection with Moscow were excluded’ (following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine) the Russian Orthodox Church ignores this and continues to include UOC-MP clerics in various commissions or working groups despite these individuals not agreeing to this nor even wanting to be included. Worship and practices Canonization In accordance with the practice of the Orthodox Church, a particular hero of faith can initially be canonized only at a local level within local churches and eparchies. Such rights belong to the ruling hierarch and it can only happen when the blessing of the patriarch is received. The task of believers of the local eparchy is to record descriptions of miracles, to create the hagiography of a saint, to paint an icon, as well as to compose a liturgical text of a service where the saint is canonized. All of this is sent to the Synodal Commission for canonization which decides whether to canonize the local hero of faith or not. Then the patriarch gives his blessing and the local hierarch performs the act of canonization at the local level. However, the liturgical texts in honor of a saint are not published in all Church books but only in local publications. In the same way, these saints are not yet canonized and venerated by the whole Church, only locally. When the glorification of a saint exceeds the limits of an eparchy, then the patriarch and Holy Synod decides about their canonization on the Church level. After receiving the Synod's support and the patriarch's blessing, the question of glorification of a particular saint on the scale of the entire Church is given for consideration to the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the period following the revolution, and during the communist persecutions up to 1970, no canonizations took place. In 1970, the Holy Synod decided to canonize a missionary to Japan, Nicholas Kasatkin (1836–1912). In 1977, St. Innocent of Moscow (1797–1879), the Metropolitan of Siberia,