UKRAINE UPDATE: SUNDAY 24 APRIL 2022, 2PM

“Russian World: The heresy driving Putin’s war.”  Article Euromaidan Press.

•          The doctrine of Russian World is “an ideology that is theological at its core.”  It pits “Holy Russia” against the “godless West.”

•          World-renowned theologians have condemned the Russia World as heresy.

•          Cyril Hovorum, Stockhold School of Theology, interviewed by Euromaidan Press.

•          The doctrine was developed under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church.

•          This doctrine frames the war in Ukraine.

•          Putin has supplied the guns and the church has supplied the ideas.

•          The “core of the aggression is ideological: it’s a distorted theology..”

•          The idea was developed by the Church and taken over by the Kremlin.

•          Putin referenced ideas from this doctrine in the speech on the eve of the war.

•          “It is a form of exceptionalism, nationalism.”  “a form of exceptionalism that means that belonging to a tribe makes you different and exceptional.”

•          Russia is believed to have a special mission from God to save the world from itself.

•          “That’s why it’s important to take into consideration religion when we try to understand this war.”

•          The Russian belief is that the West has been corrupted by liberal ideas and values which are dangerous.  The “traditional values” they support are conservative and anti-liberal.

• “that’s why we see these strange alliances like between the Kremlin and some white evangelicals in the USA.”
• Many radical Muslims, especially supporters of Daesh in the Middle East, see Russia as fighting their common enemy, this global demon/shaitan of the West.” 
• Unfortunately the average Russian believes this ideology.
• “Putin has the support of the majority of the population regardless of his actions.”
• The main part “in forming this ideology was played by the Church…:
• “Patriarch Kiril (the leader of the Russian Orthodox church) is the author of this ideology.”
• The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) wanted to attract people and fill a void that was left with the collapse of the Soviet Union. 
• “The disappointment in the Communist ideology became complete…”
• The Church saw this as an opportunity. 
• “Instead of Christianizing the deideologized Russian population it led to ideologizing the Christian Church…””The Church has been ideologized ad putinized…”
• “I believe the Russian World is a sort of idolatry.”
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