From Zero to Holy War: The International Community's Ongoing Silence in the Face of the Russian Orthodox Church's Escalating Support for War Against Ukraine

Abstract

Using its domestic and global pulpits, the Russian Orthodox Church—Moscow Patriarchate (ROC) has wielded its religious authority to echo Russian state propaganda and justifications for war against Ukraine. This stalwart support has manifested in both spiritual and practical terms, most recently culminating in a public vindication of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as nothing less than a “holy war” against satanic forces. 

Despite overwhelming evidence corroborating the ROC’s corrosive role in legitimating Russia’s war, very few of Ukraine’s international partners have taken any meaningful measures against the church. To better understand the ramifications that flow from this fractured and inadequate response, the first part of this article offers a comprehensive accounting of the ROC’s conduct since the onset of the Russian invasion in early 2022. By drawing on concrete examples from the church’s ideological and practical activities, this section will demonstrate the pervasive and escalatory nature of ROC support for the Kremlin’s war effort.

With the ROC’s unflagging commitment to the invasion established, the article turns to an examination of actions taken by Ukraine’s partners in response to Russia’s aggression. This analysis reveals that despite the rapid buildup of a sweeping and concerted effort to confront Russia, only six states have opted to institute sanctions against the ROC’s leader, Patriarch Kirill. More curiously, the two most powerful sources for sanctions—the United States and the European Union—have abstained from acting against the church or its hierarchs. This omission has persisted three years into the war, and even as thousands of other individuals and institutions have come to be targeted under one of the largest sanctions regimes ever instituted against a rogue state.

To help explain this lacuna, the article identifies two primary rationales that have operated to obstruct action against the ROC: First, the obligation to avoid impinging on freedom of religion; and second, the singular preoccupation on targeting “big fish” responsible for furnishing or facilitating Russia’s access to war materiel. As the article argues, both these justifications are defective and ultimately platformed on faulty reasoning that cannot substantiate the ROC’s omission from decisive and unified action.

Continuing to ignore the ROC’s central function in this war—particularly in the context of mounting an effective and concerted response to its illegality—neglects the church’s vital role in providing both spiritual and practical succor for the Kremlin. It also leaves unchecked the Kremlin’s most ardent global supporter, in turn enabling the perpetuation of a legitimizing narrative across the ROC’s robust international networks and among its faithful. The article’s findings must serve as a wakeup call for action against the ROC’s wholesale endorsement of Kremlin misadventure. Responding to the church’s actions can no longer be merely an afterthought; it demands priority and consistency on the part of Ukraine’s allies moving forward. 

Keywords: Russia, Ukraine, Sanctions, Restrictive Measures, Religion, Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow Patriarchate, International Law, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Freedom of Religion, War

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K19, K00, K42, K38, K30, K33, K40, K49, N40