Church-state relations during the Russo-Ukrainian war (2014 - 2024)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive analysis of church and religious policy in the focus of political institutions under the conditions of the Russo-Ukrainian war 2014 – 2024; elucidation of the main areas of Church activity of different denominations, their position regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war, characteristics of the interaction between the Church and the state, taking into account the challenges of the national security, geopolitical influences. The Methodology of the Research. To achieve the goal, general scientific and special scientific principles and methods, as well as principles of systematicity and consistency, have been used. The Scientific Novelty. A hybrid dimension of the Russo-Ukrainian war and its ideological basis, in particular in the concept of the “Russian world” promoted by the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate, actualizes the study of religious institutions activity. That is, the study of church-state interaction, socio-religious relations in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian war is relevant in view of the national security issue. At the same time, a comprehensive study of the role of leading church institutions, not only of the Orthodox, but also of the Catholic denomination, in the Russo-Ukrainian war demonstrates their identification and civilizational choice. TheConclusions. Civilizational challenges of the Russo-Ukrainian war, actualized under the conditions of a full-scale invasion, affected the identification processes of citizens, a religious landscape of the state. The Orthodox churches of the Kyiv Christian tradition were united, and the Tomos on autocephaly was received. The reformation of the religious network of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, in particular the loss of some religious buildings, the transfer of parishes to the newly created OCU, is accompanied by a significant polarization of relations between the UOC MP and the OCU, and even open aggression on the part of the leaders of the Moscow Patriarchate. Under such difficult conditions, the state apparatus, responding to challenges, pursues the policy of making it impossible, reducing the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church and its Ukrainian representatives – the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. After all, supporting the independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine is the matter of national security, confirmation of the Ukrainian identity, and a geopolitical choice. Restrictions on the presence of the UOC MP in the Ukrainian public space are carried out through the discussion of draft laws banning the Russian Orthodox Church, banning the activities of religious organizations registered outside of Ukraine, and a gradual implementation of resolutions aimed at depriving the right to use religious buildings of the national level.