When the Patriarch of Moscow Blesses a War: The Russian World and the Sacralization of Violence

Abstract

The article explains that the ideology that fuels Russia's war against Ukraine was produced within the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church and had Kirill Gundiaev, the Patriarch of Moscow, as its major proponent. The ideology of the so‐called “Russian World” denies to the Ukrainian state a right to independent existence. This ideology also postulates a clash of civilizations between the Holy Rus’ as a defender of the traditional Christian values and the secular West. The most recent pro‐war statements of Patriarch Kirill are analyzed in light of this dichotomy.