The religious dimension of the invasion of Ukraine
From VirtueOnline:
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.” Mark 13:7
A war with apocalyptic overtones is raging in Russia over the Ukraine, with a secular media framing it as a war over whether Ukraine should be a part of Mother Russia or should be allowed to go its own way…
…Putin is trying to re-create an imperial Christian state, a neo-medieval “Holy Roman Empire” — uniting political, economic and spiritual power into an entity to control the earthly and heavenly destiny of European peoples.
Ironically, he has some support in the U.S. A Western coalition of religious conservatives — a partnership between American evangelicals, traditionalist Catholics in Western countries and orthodox people under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church is seen as a bulwark against three enemies — decadent secularism, a rising China and Islam — for a glorious rebirth of moral purity and Christian culture.
Until recently, it appeared Vladimir Putin had successfully co-opted Orthodoxy into this globalist triumvirate, making for a surprising love fest between American evangelicals and the Russian strongman. Just this week, former Secretary of State and stalwart evangelical, Mike Pompeo praised Putin. Outside observers might think Putin was firmly in control of the future of Orthodoxy vis-a-vis neo-Christendom, says Bass.
Except he wasn’t. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church had other ideas.
And that’s a real problem. Because when it comes to Russian Orthodoxy, Kyiv is essentially Jerusalem…. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine is a fully independent national ecclesial body under no control from Moscow. Its head lies in the ancient seat of Orthodoxy in Kyiv…
…The conflict in Ukraine is all about religion and what kind of Orthodoxy will shape Eastern Europe and other Orthodox communities around the world (especially in Africa). This is a crusade, recapturing the Holy Land of Russian Orthodoxy, and defeating the Westernized (and decadent) heretics who do not bend the knee to Moscow’s spiritual authority.
If you don’t get that, you don’t get it. Who is going to control the geographical home, the “Jerusalem,” of the Russian church? Moscow? Or Constantinople? And what does claiming that territory mean for Orthodoxy around the world? Will global Orthodoxy lean toward a more pluralistic and open future, or will it be part of the authoritarian neo-Christendom triumvirate?
Read here (scroll down to first article)
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