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Stoyanov, Yuri (2024) 'Eastern Orthodox War Justification and Ecclesial Dilemmas Arising from the War in Ukraine.' Studies in World Christianity, 30 (2). pp. 230-248.

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Abstract

The escalation of ecclesial and religio-political conflicts since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has further complicated the convoluted ecclesial situation in Ukraine and has been addressed in a series of sermons, formal statements and documents issued by senior Russian and Ukrainian ecclesiastical figures. Their ideological and theological rhetoric demonstrates the active participation of senior Russian Orthodox clerics in the justification of the Russian military effort which represents some radical ruptures in Eastern Orthodox ecclesial involvement in war-making and mobilisation. The Moscow Patriarchate’s war-legitimisation stances and policies have major repercussions for the current debates on and reconceptions of the Christian just-war tradition in the frameworks of just peace, peacebuilding and reconciliation, as well as the potential key role of Christian religious actors in these processes.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: Church-State relations, Christianity and militarism, just war, pacifism and peacebuilding, Russian Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Orthodoxy, ecumenism and interchurch relations
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > School of Languages, Cultures & Linguistics
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religions. Mythology. Rationalism
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BT Doctrinal Theology
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BV Practical Theology
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BX Christian Denominations
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
J Political Science > JC Political theory
J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
J Political Science > JZ International relations
U Military Science > U Military Science (General)
H Social Sciences
U Military Science
ISSN: 13549901
Copyright Statement: This is the version of the article accepted for publication in Studies in World Christianity, 30 (2). pp. 230-248, published by Edinburgh University Press. Re-use is subject to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.3366/swc.2024.0472
Date Deposited: 28 Jul 2024 09:06
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/42300

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