MOSCOW, January 8. /TASS/. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Sunday said the religious schism in Ukraine will end soon and its instigators will receive punishment.

"No trace will be left of schismatics because they are doing the devil’s evil bidding, eroding Orthodoxy in Kiev’s lands," he said after a liturgy at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin. "The wait won’t be too long."

Kirill said Ukraine’s secular powers that be aren’t likely to stay around for long.

"Just like political turmoil mowed down Soviet leaders that raised their hand to the church, the current government won’t reign and rule in Ukraine," the patriarch said.

The Ukrainian government has lately been making moves against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, ordering frequent searches at its temples and accusing priests of subversive activities and treason. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has sanctioned some of the church representatives and ordered that a bill be put together to ban religious organizations affiliated with Russian "centers of influence.".