Orthodox Christianity and Multiple Modernities: The Case of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Abstract

This study explores the ways in which two Orthodox churches (the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine) construct their own versions of modernity while reacting to the Russian-Ukrainian war. One tries to develop its own idiosyncratic and strongly anti-Western, but still essentially modern project, while the other aligns itself with Western modernity, albeit also on a selective basis. Theoretically, the article draws from the literature about multiple modernities, arguing that this framework can shed new light not only on these religious actors’ attitudes to Western modernity, but also on the internal competition within the Orthodox world. Methodologically, the study builds on a qualitative discourse analysis of online communication of the two churches in the period of January 2022-December 2023.

Keywords

Religion and politics, Christianity, Orthodox Christianity, Russian-Ukrainian War, Multiple modernities

Supplementary File(s)

Author Biography

Petr Kratochvíl

Petr Kratochvíl is a full professor and a senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and a lecturer at the Metropolitan University Prague. His main research interests include the religion-politics nexus, critical geopolitics, and theories of international relations. He has published extensively on religion and politics, including in top journals such as Geopolitics, Cooperation and Conflict, Politics and Religion, and many others. His latest book is Geopolitics of Global Catholicism: Politics of Religion in Space and Time; his recent study titled “The Patriotic Turn in Russia: Political Convergence of the Russian Orthodox Church and the State?” (co‑written with Gaziza Shakhanova) received the 2023 Ted Jelen Award for the best article on religion and politics, awarded by the American Political Science Association.

Tomáš Doležal

Tomáš Doležal lectures at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Anglo- American University in Prague and the Department of International Relations and European Studies, Metropolitan University Prague. His current courses include Politics of Religion and Ethnicity, International Politics and Religion, and ‘Culture Wars’ in the West: Politics in the Digital Era. His research interests focus on religious, cultural, ideational, and theoretical dimensions of international relations and identity issues in politics. He co-authored monograph The European Union and the Catholic Church. Political Theology of European Integration (co‑written with Petr Kratochvíl), which received the Distinguished Book Award of the REL Section of the American International Studies Association.