Russian Orthodox Church

Two recently held major international conferences brought together thousands of religious freedom advocates and government officials to cooperate in taking concrete action to end religious persecution.  

Providence editors Mark Tooley and Marc LiVecche discuss Abigail Lindner and Eric Patterson’s article on G.K. Chesterton and war memorials, Lubomir Ondrasek’s piece on Czech leader Vaclav Havel’s warning against hatred, and Lee Trepanier’s counsel for how Russian Orthodoxy, lacking the Just War tradition, can oppose injustice with church teaching on personhood.

While Orthodox Christianity lacks the historical tradition of just war theory to criticize war, it does have a theological resource it could draw upon to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: personhood.

As the world turns its attention to Ukraine, the important but often neglected issue of Orthodox Christian geopolitics has received renewed interest from Western media.

Russia’s unwarranted aggression toward Ukraine has not only shattered the peace of Europe and unleashed a torrent of economic and physical destruction, but it has also thrown into stark relief the moral chasm between Russia and its rivals. As Putin dismembers Ukraine, he shows the importance and value of America’s empire of nations.

It is past time for Orthodox leaders to consider how to address and prevent future rogue actions by Russia that aim to “overthrow the Church’s canonical order.”

If we are to take a constructive part in world politics our leaders cannot assume that religious questions are unimportant.

The basic distinction between American conservatism and Eastern European conservatism lies in different attitudes toward freedom.

Eight weeks after the falsified Belarusian presidential elections, country-wide protests remain steady, and fervent democratic activism has arisen among an unsuspecting source—the Catholic Church. American Christians should follow and take a vocal stance for the Belarusian future.