• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Monday, January 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Orthodox Times (en)
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
No Result
View All Result
Orthodox Times (en)
No Result
View All Result

No religion can justify the war in Ukraine

Aug 10, 2022 | 17:23
in FrontPage, Opinions
No religion can justify the war in Ukraine

© Esko Jämsä

by Tapio Luoma, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and Archbishop Leo of the Orthodox Church of Finland

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has used religion in justifying the illegal war of aggression against Ukraine. Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has also supported the military operations on religious grounds. As church leaders representing both Eastern and Western traditions, we find this deeply shocking.

There was a recent example of the abuse of religion on 21 June, when Patriarch Kirill visited a military hospital in Krasnogorsk, on the western outskirts of Moscow.

“You are all ascetics in a sense,” Kirill declared to some Russian soldiers who had been injured in the war. It was important that the soldiers and the entire Russian army remained on the side of good, because, according to the Patriarch, “the soldiers will then receive divine support in achieving their objectives”.

In the Christian tradition of the East asceticism is understood as the exercise of piety, the core of which is a person’s spiritual growth. It always entails a personal effort to achieve higher values, such as the renouncing of the self and the sacrificial service of one’s neighbour. Soldiers must undoubtedly strive and make sacrifices, but the Patriarch abuses not only his tradition but the essence of Christianity in equating violence with religious piety.

Another example of Kirill’s problematic rhetoric involves a false and damaging confrontational approach. At Penza cathedral on 19 June the Patriarch declared that for Russians self-sacrifice – asceticism – was something that arose from “an inner moral sensibility cultivated by Orthodox faith”. There are many serious problems with what he said.

In referring to violent war as asceticism, the Patriarch is embellishing the truth. He is seeking to use religion to wash the bloodstains away. Moreover, the suggestion that Russian soldiers have an ingrained morality and that they represent good implies that the opposing side is immoral and represents evil. At its heart is the deliberate dehumanisation of another group, which is the prerequisite for a person to be prepared to kill others.

Dehumanisation is often heard in Kremlin speeches especially, in which Ukrainians are called fascists and nationalists who must be denazified. Although it is subtler and has a different emphasis, the same phenomenon can be seen in the patriarch’s speeches.

Kirill’s speeches feature repeated accusations that the West, which is apostate and liberal, is the war’s real enemy and has enslaved some Ukrainians. The Patriarch thus falsely portrays the West and its churches, while ignoring the fact that the Ukrainians are mainly Eastern Christians.

Because the war lacks a rational justification, the attempt is made to find it where it speaks to and touches many Russians: in the painful memories of the Second World War and in the Orthodox faith. The real victims of such rhetoric are the Ukrainians suffering and dying in the war, but the Patriarch’s speeches simultaneously cloud Russians’ sensibilities, damage the Russian Orthodox Church, and distort the image of the churches of both East and West.

In the Western Christian tradition we speak of the principle of a just war. This means that although killing a person is always fundamentally wrong, warfare is ethically justified in certain situations. According to the principle a defensive war can only be justified if no other options remain, and if fighting makes it possible to prevent even greater suffering.

Although the Eastern tradition does not itself speak of the principle of a just war, the Orthodox Church does not require a strictly pacifict approach to war. However, it always prioritises the Christian conscience and emphasises that the killing of the innocent is never ethically acceptable, regardless of the state’s objectives.

Defending Russia’s illegal war of aggression on religious grounds is an abuse of religion: it is unethical and breaks the link between East and West, and above all it harms people.

© Esko Jämsä
Tags: Archbishop Leo of Helsinki and all FinlandOpinions

Follow OrthodoxTimes.com on Google News and learn all the news about Orthodoxy in Greece and worldwide.

All the latest developments in the Orthodox world, society and humankind, at the moment they happen, at OrthodoxTimes.com


Related Posts

Fr Georgios Lekkas: Degrees of faith
Opinions

Fr Georgios Lekkas: Degrees of faith

January 16, 2023
Neither power nor age “makes” an Archbishop
Opinions

Neither power nor age “makes” an Archbishop

December 30, 2022
What are the 12 Days of Christmas?
Opinions

Fr Georgios Lekkas: The Magi’s Questions

December 28, 2022
“Orthodox Shahidism” and Moscow Patriarch Kirill’s neo-pagan theology of war
Opinions

“Orthodox Shahidism” and Moscow Patriarch Kirill’s neo-pagan theology of war

December 11, 2022
Patriarch of Romania: Bishop Gurie distinguished himself by his vocation for dialogue
Opinions

Fr Georgios Lekkas: Life through others

December 4, 2022
The Ukrainian Issue
Opinions

The Ukrainian Issue

December 1, 2022
Load More
Next Post
Divine Liturgy at Robaia Monastery for St Paphnutius the Iconographer’s 5th canonization anniversary

Divine Liturgy at Robaia Monastery for St Paphnutius the Iconographer’s 5th canonization anniversary

Latest News

Pilgrims from Ioannina to the Theological School of Halki

Pilgrims from Ioannina to the Theological School of Halki

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 18:54
0

A group of fifty pilgrims from Ioannina visited the Holy Theological School of Halki on Sunday, January 29. The...

The feast of the veneration of Apostle Peter’s sacred chain at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (VIDEO)

The feast of the veneration of Apostle Peter’s sacred chain at the Patriarchate of Jerusalem (VIDEO)

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 17:31
0

On Sunday, January 29, 2023, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the veneration of the Holy chain...

School Feast of the Three Hierarchs in Birmingham

School Feast of the Three Hierarchs in Birmingham

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 14:23
0

With poems, music, and dances, the Three Hierarchs were celebrated on Sunday, January 29, at the Greek Orthodox Community...

Memory of Three Holy Hierarchs

Memory of Three Holy Hierarchs

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 13:52
0

Our Church and the ecumenical Greek education celebrate today the memory of the Three Holy Hierarchs and Ecumenical Teachers,...

Archbishop of Australia: The Three Hierarchs belong to the Great Fathers of the Church

Archbishop of Australia: The Three Hierarchs belong to the Great Fathers of the Church

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 13:44
0

Archbishop Makarios of Australia visited the Orthodox Day Schools for the beginning of School and the Feast of The...

Metropolitan of Ioannina officiated at the Patriarchal Church in the Phanar (PHOTOS)

Metropolitan of Ioannina officiated at the Patriarchal Church in the Phanar (PHOTOS)

by NewsRoom
Jan 30, 2023 | 13:08
0

The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was present in prayer from the Holy Altar during the Divine Liturgy on Sunday 29...

Newsletter

Sign up for our weekly newsletter



Quick Links

  • Orthodoxy
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • History
  • Press Releases

Get Social

About Us

Advertise

Contact

© 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com
digital world media

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • Greek Version

© 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT