"Caesaropapism" in the Religious and Political Struggle for the Restoration of the Orthodox Church in the 20th and early 21st Centuries: Parallels between the ROC and the Ukrainian Church

Authors

Bohdan Synchak, Ukrainian Institute of Arts and SciencesFollow
Iryna Vakulova, Ukrainian Institute of Arts and SciencesFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

1 ORCID автора : 0000-0002-8186-5692, 2 ORCID автора: 0000-0002-7123-5646.

Abstract

The article characterizes the phenomenon of caesaropapism as a model of state governance in which the church and its structures are entirely dependent on secular authority. Within the context of the stated issue, the primary periods and contexts of the religious and political struggle for the restoration of the Orthodox Church in the 20th and early 21st centuries are identified. Parallels are drawn between the struggle for the legitimization of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)'s fight for self-governance and independence from the Moscow Patriarchate. In the church-historical context, the article describes several declassified KGB archival documents related to the implementation of agent activities within church structures in Russia and Ukraine. The key historical components of the processes of restoring the activities of the ROC and the UOC are identified. Contextual and historical markers of caesaropapism in the ROC throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries are characterized, and similar markers in the ROC's efforts to hinder the UOC's independence during this historical period are highlighted. Examples of the Moscow Patriarchate's allegiance to Stalin as the restorer of the ROC are provided, along with a chronology of specific Russian bans on the Ukrainian language in church activities. The article outlines the key periods of the ROC's restoration and legitimization in the 20th and early 21st centuries, as well as the chronology of the Ukrainian Church's struggle for independence from the Moscow Patriarchate during the same period. Based on the historical data presented, the extent to which caesaropapism is a real characteristic of Russian and Ukrainian Orthodoxy is analyzed. Contextual and historical markers of the UOC's fight for independence are identified as indicators of opposition to caesaropapism.

Recommended Citation

Synchak, Bohdan and Vakulova, Iryna (2025) ""Caesaropapism" in the Religious and Political Struggle for the Restoration of the Orthodox Church in the 20th and early 21st Centuries: Parallels between the ROC and the Ukrainian Church," Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 45 : Iss. 4 , Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2599
Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol45/iss4/4