Abstract
This paper focuses on the behavior of the current Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) in the context of the Russia’s military aggression against sovereign Ukraine – a religious leader who fully supports the war policy of the Kremlin. The pro-war and pro-Putin views and messages of Patriarch Kirill proved him in the eyes of the Orthodox world more as a false Patriarch and a politician than as the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. To a large extent, the Russian political narratives and ideology of the “Russian Peace” and “Holy Rus” doctrine are a product of the senior leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and in particular of Kirill himself. Due to him and his entourage of high clergy, the Russian Orthodoxy emptied itself of its dogmatic and canonical nature and has developed into a “political religion” which serves the political interests of Putin. Thus, acting through its highest representative, the Russian Orthodox Church has become essential for political strategy in all areas of public life of the Russian State.
Recommended Citation
Nikolchev, Dilyan
(2025)
"Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia: a True Patriarch or a False One, a Senior Cleric or a Senior Politician of the Russian Federation? The Russian Patriarch and the War in Ukraine,"
Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe: Vol. 45
:
Iss.
5
, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.55221/2693-2229.2632
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ree/vol45/iss5/5