Holy Russia? Holy War? Why the Russian Church is Backing Putin Against Ukraine
Ebook
'An original, and in some areas unexpected, way of shedding light on this critical subject.'
Edward Stourton, journalist and presenter of BBC Radio 4's The World at One
Why is the Russian Church supporting Putin in his war against Ukraine?
Why does the Patriarch of Moscow believe that history is on Russia's side?
And what are the implications for Christianity and Christian culture in the West?
These are among the vital questions addressed in Holy Russia? Holy War? Written by Katherine Kelaidis, an internationally respected historian who is also an Orthodox believer, this timely book examines the way history and religion are being used to justify Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine.
Kelaidis shows how Russia's understanding of its past continues to shape and direct the way it sees its future. This, she argues, is not only a problem for Ukraine, but also a problem for all who value freedom, democracy, tolerance, and the defence of human rights.
Reading Holy Russia? Holy War? will enhance your knowledge of why the defence of Ukraine is also the defence of Western freedom and values. It will also help you to see how differing views of the past can radically affect what happens in the present, how religion can so easily become corrupted at the service of militant nationalism, and how we must guard against it, wherever it appears.
Contents
PART ONE: Shadows of the past
PART TWO: Who is Patriarch Kirill and why is he dangerous?
PART THREE: This is not just a problem for Ukraine
PART FOUR: The war will end but the causes and consequences will remain, so what can be done?
CONCLUSION: Two modern Russian saints
The first book to examine how and why the Russian Church is acting as an accomplice to Putin in his war against Ukraine, and its disturbing implications for the rest of the world
Prologue
PART ONE: SHADOWS OF THE PAST
The New Rome
Rome never fell
The conversion of the Slavs
The Great Schism and the Crusades
Ottoman occupation
The Third Rome
Reformation and Enlightenment
Nationalism
Communism
Which brings us to today
PART TWO: WHO IS PATRIARCH KIRILL AND WHY IS HE DANGEROUS?
Introducing Putin's greatest admirer
What's so scary about the inclusion of 'God' in the Russian constitution?
Make no mistake, if there's a war between Russia and Ukraine, it will be a religious war
No, Patriarch Kirill is not calling for peace. In fact, he's Putin's accomplice
What are the 'evil forces' ranged against Russia and the Russian Church?
Now Kirill blames the war on Western pride parades
The Russian Patriarch just gave his most dangerous speech yet - and almost no one in the West has noticed
Meet 'The Putin Whisperer': Kirill may lead the Russian Church, but this Metropolitan has Putin's ear
How belief in Moscow as 'the new Rome' explains Kirill's astonishing declaration that 'Russia has never attacked anyone'
Putin's theo-propaganda minister invokes 600 years of history to lay claim to Ukraine
Now Kirill justifies Russia's invasion as a defence of orthodox faith
PART THREE: THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM FOR UKRAINE
Russians on La rue Daru
Russian influence in Sub-Saharan Africa and the lessons of Ukraine
The enigmatic role of antisemitism in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
A twisted love story: how American evangelicals helped make Putin's Russia and how Russia became the darling of the American right
Palestinian Orthodox Christians, desperate for help, have caught the attention of Russia
Is this tiny divided orthodox nation the next front in Russia's religious war?
Independence of the Orhid Archdioceses is more about Russia than Macedonia
Is the worldwide Russian Orthodox Church looking to Westernize?
As tensions escalate in the Balkans, the West could hand Putin a valuable weapon
In Cyprus' search for a new archbishop Russia did not get its way
The Korean Peninsula: The next front in Russia's quest to be Orthodox influencers
Russia's man in Cyprus
PART FOUR: THE WAR WILL END BUT THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES WILL REMAIN, SO WHAT CAN BE DONE?
A Church (further) divided: Putin's patriarch faces a rebellion from within the Russian Orthodox Church
One prominent Russian orthodox church rejects the pro-Putin patriarch, raising tensions within the Orthodox world
Failure to grasp the character and history of Eastern Christianity is compromising our understanding of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
Holy father, you're not helping: the problem with the Pope's plan to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Another important defection from the Russian patriarchate looms: the fate of Orthodoxy in the West hangs in the balance
Be careful what you wish for: the downside of kicking the Russian Orthodox Church out of the World Council of Churches
Sanctioning Patriarch Kirill would send a strong message
CONCLUSION
Two modern Russian saints
Epilogue
The role of religion in the war in Ukraine is clearly a hugely important dimension of the story, but it has received relatively little attention in our press coverage and political debate; this treatment is an original, and in some areas unexpected, way of shedding light on this critical subject.
A valuable guide to the religious dimensions of the war between Russia and Ukraine - past and present - beautifully delivered in a brisk and lively prose that is bound to engage and inform both specialists and the general public.
An informed and incisive response to the war and the crises it has caused.
Brings into sharp focus otherwise disparate and often bifurcated dimensions of a complex subject overly simplified in the West.
Understanding the present depends on how we see history - and history does not have a single reading. This is a timely, prescient and informative book that helps western observers to look through an Eastern Orthodox lens at current crises.
Kelaidis argues persuasively that Russia's war against Ukraine has religious and moral underpinnings with dangerous implications far beyond its borders. She writes evocatively and engagingly to explain the twisted interpretations of history that are motivating both Vladimir Putin and his ecclesiastical accomplice, Patriarch Kirill.
A brilliant expose of the transformation of the Russian Orthodox Church into Putin's propaganda machine.
- Title: Holy Russia? Holy War? Why the Russian Church is Backing Putin Against Ukraine
- Author: Katherine Kelaidis
- Publisher: SPCK Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780281089741, 9780281089727, 0281089728, 0281089744
- Resource ID: LLS:9780281089741
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-05-02T17:40:05Z