War and peace of Russian Orthodoxy: the militarization of ecclesiastical law of the Russian Orthodox Church after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine

Abstract

Guerra e pace nella Chiesa ortodossa russa: la militarizzaizione della legge ecclesiastica dopo lo scoppio della guerra in Ucraina – This paper explores the Russian Orthodox Church’s adoption of punitive measures akin to those of the Russian state to suppress opposition to the war in Ukraine. It compares the state's military censorship with the Church's actions against anti-war clergy, focusing on two priests, Ioann Koval and Ioann Burdin, who were punished for opposing Russia's invasion and refusing to recite a prayer granting victory to Russia. The paper also examines the Church's effort to equate pacifism with heresy and explores why the Church’s leadership supports state militarism while confronting other Orthodox churches, particularly the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Keywords: Military censorship; Heresy; Pacifism; Russian Orthodox Church; War in Ukraine