The Orthodox Church is a complex geopolitical reality, and it does not constitute a homogenous block. On the contrary, the rise of irredentism during the 19th century has created the basis for constant territorial fragmentation throughout the 20th century. Surprisingly, the worldwide Orthodox population continues to increase. The convergence of these two phenomena is a starting point for a reinvestigation of Orthodox power in international affairs, as well as a profound strategic change affecting the communion of the fourteen local Orthodox Churches.

The article examines the transformation of the image of Metropolitan Ignatius in historiography and its use for constructing ethnic identity and historical memory of the Greeks of Ukrainian Northern Azov Sea region. The article analyzes historical and local historical literature and periodicals of the imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet periods. The analysis showed that the imperatives of modeling the image of the Metropolitan varied according to the political situation and the dominant ideology.