The Assumption or Dormition Cathedral, the main Orthodox church of Kharkiv, rises above the center of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, Feb. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”
Important Takeaways:
- Putin is after more than land — he wants the religious soul of Ukraine
- The physical landscape of Ukraine isn’t the only battle space Russian invaders hope to dominate. For the past decade, the two countries have fought another battle — not over territory but the religious orientation of Ukraine. And if Russia occupies the country, religious freedom will be one of the many casualties.
- Putin’s efforts to restore Russian prestige have included elevating the Russian Orthodox Church to the center of Russian identity while also undermining the independence of the Moscow Patriarch. Putin’s Ukraine scheme included leveraging the potential religious soft power of the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
- The Orthodox Church of Ukraine becoming free was a declaration of independence from foreign influence and achieved greater religious freedom
- The president of the European People’s Party, Donald Tusk, cited sources saying Putin’s “demands are also connected with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its independence from Moscow.
- Whatever the outcome, the future is uncertain. The Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz said, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” War was probably the only outcome Putin wanted. The implications for Ukrainian religious freedom and other human rights, however, hang in the balance.
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