Apr 20: Russian Orthodox Church structures were involved in preparation for Russian invasion of Ukraine
As published in the Ukrainska Pravda on April 16, 2023
Russian Orthodox Church structures were involved in preparation for Russian invasion of Ukraine
As published by Ukrainska Pravda, April 16, 2023
Metropolitan Epiphanius of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) has said that the structures of the Russian Orthodox Church were involved in the preparation for and implementation of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Source: Epiphanius for Ukrainska Pravda
Quote: "It is a shame to see that the 'Russian world' has made church institutions one of the instruments of its aggression.
The Moscow Patriarchate, headed by Kirill Gundyaev [Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church - ed.], is in slavish obedience to the Kremlin's tyranny and serves as its tool. The structures of the Russian Orthodox Church, and this is not only seen by us but also recognised by independent international experts, were systematically involved in the preparation for and implementation of aggression against Ukraine."
Details: According to Epiphanius, therefore, an integral part of the Ukrainian resistance is the complete severance of all ties of subordination with the Moscow Patriarchate, which still remain with some Orthodox believers in Ukraine.
"Because in words, the religious association that calls itself the UOC [Ukrainian Orthodox Church - ed.] allegedly distances itself from its patriarch and the Russian Church, but in reality, it remains subordinate to them," the Metropolitan notes.
He believes that "only a legislative prohibition for any religious organisations in Ukraine to be subordinate to Russian religious centres can remedy this situation".
Because the Kremlin has turned these centres into its centres of influence, from which Orthodox, Muslim, Protestant and other religious leaders in the Russian Federation assist the aggressor and justify its crimes.
"Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russian hybrid aggression in the spiritual sphere in the same way it defends itself on the battlefield," Epiphanius said.
Further reading
Olga Lautman, An Unorthodox Russian Vision of Heaven and Hell
Some critics have suggested that the Russian Orthodox Church has little option but to support Putin, but this is surely over-generous. Kirill, a Soviet-era cleric with extensive ties to the KGB, the President’s former employer, is absolutely dependent on the state, politically and financially. This does not seem to cause him much discomfort. Kirill was granted a Kremlin residence in 2004, the government in 2010 returned huge swaths of land and other property seized by the Soviet Union, and the state makes grants in the hundreds of millions of dollars to the organization. In June, his deputy, the intellectually impressive Metropolitan Hilarion, often described as the church’s foreign minister, was removed from his post by Putin after failing to endorse the invasion.
Those who do conform are blessed. The pro-Kremlin Orthodox billionaire, Konstantin Malofeev, runs the country’s largest private charity, the St Basil’s Foundation. His ties to Putin are unclear — he is certainly a close friend to his spiritual adviser — but he has been sanctioned by the US for his role in the 2014 invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. [continue reading]