The Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine sent a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to condemn the “Russian World” as well as the decree issued by the recent session of the “World Russian People’s Council”.
In their letter, the Hierarchs of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine under Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv stressed that the “Russian world,” after the meeting of this Council, “can be defined as ideological Nazism.” According to the rationale of the “decree,” Ukraine cannot be an independent state, Ukrainians and Belarusians do not exist (they are part of the Russian people), and Russia is a “spiritual civilization” that fights the “global evil of the West.” Despite the strong emphasis on Russia’s roots in the traditions of Orthodoxy, the text of the “decree” contains no reference to God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Church, the saints, etc. Instead of these fundamental categories of the Christian faith, the document invokes abstract “spiritual and moral views,” “traditional values,” and secular ideologies such as the “Russian cultural identity,” the “collective West,” the “unified Russian space,” the “trinity of the Russian people,” and the “struggle against globalization and the collective West,” etc.
It is also stressed that the ideology of the “Russian world” clearly has a heretical character, as well as that “the dogmatic truths of Christianity and the teachings of the Church are replaced by historical and political myths to sanctify the state power of the Kremlin regime and its neo-imperialist geopolitics.” In fact, the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine stated that Moscow created a new theology of war (“holy war”).
It asked the Ecumenical Patriarch to address Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and demand that the Patriarch of Moscow public repudiate the false teaching of the “Russian world,” and condemn and revoke the decree of the “World Russian People’s Council”.
The statement underscores that until the Patriarch of Moscow heeds the call for justice, there can be no ecclesiastical communion with him. Additionally, it asserts that Putin has been excommunicated from the Church due to his crimes and persistent lack of repentance. However, it acknowledges that the Church of Ukraine lacks direct canonical authority to excommunicate official individuals beyond its canonical jurisdiction.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine asks the Ecumenical Patriarch, “as the First among the Patriarchs and the only one who has special canonical rights concerning the crew of Orthodoxy” and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “to take decisive action to safeguard the purity of the Christian Orthodox faith from the heretical distortions that have led to conflict, numerous innocent deaths, and the widespread suffering endured by the people of God.”
Letter from the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Approved May 11, 2024,
at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
Your All-Holiness Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, beloved brother in Christ and co-celebrant, Bartholomew. May the Grace and Peace of God be with your Beatitude.
In this correspondence, the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, convening in its customary annual assembly on May 11, 2024, within the sacred precincts of the Holy Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, extends its solemn address to you and the esteemed Holy and Sacred Synod of the Holy Great Church of Christ in Constantinople. In doing so, we emphatically denounce the doctrine of the “Russian world” as fundamentally at odds with Orthodox Christian doctrine.
The Theological Academies within our Local Church have meticulously scrutinized this doctrine, particularly following the enactment, in March of this year, of the “decree” issued by the XXV so-called “World Russian People’s Council,” titled: “The Present and the Future of the Russian World.” While bearing a political nature, this entity was established directly under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by the Russian Patriarch since the mid-1990s to the present day, and has operated in close alignment with the Russian state and the Russian Orthodox Church. The declarations of this organization, which labeled the Russian invasion in Ukraine as a “holy war,” were officially propagated by the Russian Orthodox Church as its own pronouncements.
The Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine thoroughly considered the recommendations put forth by our Theological Academies, delving into the intricacies of the matter, and reached the following conclusions.
Drawing from an in-depth analysis of the “decree” issued by the self-proclaimed “World Russian People’s Council” and various other sources, including numerous public addresses by Kirill Gundyayev, the concept of the “Russian world” can be accurately described as akin to ideological Nazism. According to the rationale of the “decree,” Ukraine cannot be an independent state, Ukrainians and Belarusians do not exist (they are part of the Russian people), and Russia is a “spiritual civilization” that fights the “global evil of the West.” Despite the strong emphasis on Russia’s roots in the traditions of Orthodoxy, the text of the “decree” contains no reference to God, Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Church, the saints, etc. Instead of these fundamental categories of the Christian faith, the document invokes abstract “spiritual and moral views,” “traditional values,” and secular ideologies such as the “Russian cultural identity,” the “collective West,” the “unified Russian space,” the “trinity of the Russian people,” and the “struggle against globalization and the collective West,” etc.
The document, while overtly anti-Christian and propagating xenophobia and violence under the guise of a social experiment, also asserts the purportedly unique messianic role of the Russian state, the Russian people, and the so-called “Russian world” as “custodians” (“possessors,” cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). It claims to cultivate a distinct “special culture” and “Russian cultural identity” in opposition to the “West that has succumbed to Satanism.” Today, the “Russian world” is in fact a Eurasian political ideology of neo-imperialist aggression and warfare, using some elements of Christian social doctrine.
The ideology of the ‘Russian world’ has a clearly heretical character. The erasure of Moscow’s Orthodoxy from authentic Christian doctrine becomes glaringly evident in the propagation of a culture of violence and the exoneration (“absolution”) of perpetrators, the instrumentalization of the Church to further the political agendas of Russia’s secular leadership (domestically: the annexation of Ukraine; globally: the dismantling of the “collective enemy,” namely Euro-Atlantic civilization), the stoking of apocalyptic fervor among the faithful, and the willingness to resort to world-ending measures (nuclear blackmail) in pursuit of an illusory triumph, among other egregious manifestations. In this way, the dogmatic truths of Christianity and the teachings of the Church are replaced by historical and political myths to politically sanctify the state power of the Kremlin regime and its neo-imperialist geopolitics.
Scientists and theologians state that the current version of the ideology of the “Russian world” has already exceeded even the boundaries of ethno-racial heresy and is rapidly moving away from Christian doctrine. In terms of its substance, this ideology exhibits tendencies reminiscent of dualistic religions like Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, or certain para-Christian Gnostic sects, wherein the same “singular principle of evil” plays a leading role in its eternal struggle with the good.
The formulation by the Moscow Patriarchate of a novel “theology of war” (“holy war”) increasingly mirrors the construction of a fresh “political religion” centered around the veneration of the “state of Moscow/Russia” and “holy (trinity) Russia.” In this construct, Christian principles are deliberately relegated to a secondary position to advance the aggressive objectives of the political leadership of the Russian Federation.
This new urban (political) religion uses the orthodox framework as one of its spheres of expansion to legitimize its own domination.
In this light, the “Russian world” is a threat not only to the entire Christian world, but also to humanity as a whole. This has been repeatedly pointed out by well-known theologians from around the world, who signed a text entitled: “Declaration on the Teaching of the ‘Russian World’.”
In light of the aforementioned points, the Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine deems it appropriate to classify the ideology of the “Russian world” not merely as an ethno-racial heresy, but also as a doctrine that steers not only the leadership but also the entirety of the Russian Orthodox Church, which presently staunchly advocates this ideology (or rather the “political religion”), beyond the confines of Orthodox Christianity.
Therefore, we ask Your All-Holiness and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, following the evangelical command (cf. Matthew 18:15 -17), to address Kirill Gundyayev with the demand to publicly repudiate the false teaching of the “Russian world,” to condemn and revoke the “decree” of the so-called “World Russian People’s Council” that contains elements of this false teaching.
We believe that until Kirill Gundyayev fulfills this call “and obeys the Church, let him […] be like a pagan and a tax collector” (cf. Matthew 18:17), as well as all those who support this teaching, promote it, and are guided by it in church life. Therefore, we can not have ecclesiastical communion with them.
We reaffirm, as our Synod of Bishops proclaimed two years ago, that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine unequivocally denounces and censures the doctrines of the “Russian world,” founded on the heretical tenets of ethno-racialism, Manichaeism, and Gnosticism. In our opinion, the active propagandists of the teaching of the “Russian world” and the leaders of the Moscow Patriarchate, including the permanent members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, are subject to the condemnation expressed by the Church regarding these heretical teachings until they publicly renounce them.
Without possessing direct canonical authority to excommunicate (anathematize) official individuals outside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and its canonical jurisdiction, yet considering Orthodox Christian doctrine regarding unrepentant mortal sins that sever one from God and the Church, and acknowledging the gravity, visibility, and persistently unrepentant nature of the offenses against God, the Church of Christ, and humanity committed by lay member of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Putin, the Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine hereby declares that this individual has been excommunicated from the Church due to his crimes and obstinate refusal to repent for his public sins.
We can say of him in the words of the Psalmist: ” his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. He loved to pronounce a curse— may it come back on him. He found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him. He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil. May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him.” (Psalm 109:17-19). May God’s righteous judgment soon be fulfilled in him about whom the Gospel says that “your father, the devil” (cf. John 8:44).
Your All-Holiness,
With love in Christ and profound respect, we humbly present these resolutions to you as the First among the Patriarchs, vested with unique canonical authority in matters pertaining to the Orthodox flock. We beseech you and the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to take all necessary measures to safeguard the purity of the Christian Orthodox faith from heretical distortions that threaten the Church and have led to conflict, countless innocent lives lost, and the suffering of God’s people.
We ask for Your holy prayers for the victory of truth and a just peace for Ukraine and we assure Your All-Holiness of our unwavering love and prayer for You!
Translated by Thanos Chrysanthopoulos
