As published by HRWF on 23 February 2022, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has
accused the Ukrainian government of repressing the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), which is affiliated to the Patriarchate of Moscow. However, an‚
open letter signed by more than 280 ROC priests and deacons, appeals for reconciliation and an immediate end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "We mourn the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine have been undeservedly subjected" (Christian Post, 6 March 2022).
World Watch Research analyst Rolf Zeegers thinks that the war in Ukraine has resulted in greater ROC unity against the war than Putin had expected: "It is clear that the driving ideology behind the current Russian war against Ukraine is not communism or atheism, as in the era of the Soviet Union, nor is it religion. This war is mainly about hurt nationalist feelings which have festered under the surface since the centuries" old Russian empire disintegrated in 1991. However, religion does play a role."
Rolf Zeegers explains the history: "No one can deny that there have been internal struggles in Orthodox circles in Ukraine for decades. Many Ukrainian Christians wanted to leave ROC jurisdiction and sent in a request in
April 2018 to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Patriarch of Constantinople, to recognise the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Bartholomew at first tried to find a compromise together with Kirill, "Patriarch of all the Russias"(Asia News, 9 May 2018). Instead of seeking a compromise, the ROC
threatened Bartholomew, warning him not to end Russian religious dominance in the country (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - RFE/RL, 8 September 2018). However, Bartholomew risked a break with Moscow by
granting Autocephaly to the Church of Ukraine on 11 October 2018 (RFE/RL, 12 October 2022). Since not all Orthodox Christians in Ukraine wanted to leave the ROC, the result was a split in the Orthodox community: About
60% of Ukrainian Christians now adhere to the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and about 15-20% remain in communion with the Patriarch of Moscow (HRWF, 3 March 2022)."
Rolf Zeegers continues: "President Putin regards the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) as part of the rich Russian heritage, something to be proud of as a Russian. He considers it an
integral part of the Russian world (Theos, 16 February 2022). The ROC does not enjoy the privilege of being an official state church as it had under the tsars, but ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the leaders of the ROC have done their very best to keep good relations with the Russian government - until now. The ROC of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine itself (i.e., according to Putin, the very church that Russian troops went to defend in Ukraine against the "˜persecution" by the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the government), not only
did not support the invasion but has also taken a very tough stance against it (HRWF, 3 March 2022). This is a church made up of a majority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, giving the lie to the theory that all Russian-speaking Ukrainians support the invasion."
