Orthodoxy and politics in the 21st century – Ukrainian Orthodox Churches and the war

Abstract

The war between Russia and Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022, has multiple implications, including religious ones that should not be overlooked. Ukraine, a country with an Orthodox majority, has, since 2019, two Orthodox jurisdictions: one under the Moscow Patriarchate, led by Metropolitan Onuphrios, which has been repeatedly sanctioned by the Ukrainian state in the recent years and another one, recognised thorough a thomos in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, led by Metro­politan Epiphany. During the war, the first one has been often considered agency of the Russians in the Ukrainian space and therefore, struggled to convince the Ukrainian state authorities of its independence. On the other hand, the second one, seeking the canonical recognition from the Eastern Orthodox World, has enjoyed the support of the state, who wants a national church to represent its interests. In our research, we will try to explore how the jurisdictions have been perceived during the war, to bring into attention the aspects of political theology that can be found in their activity and, at the same time, to emphasize the particularities of each.