russia invades ukraine

Francis, the Roman Catholic Church's First Latin American Pope, Leaves Behind a Complicated Legacy

Megan Goodwin — Mon, 21 Apr 2025 03:47:49 EDT

As you probably know by now, Pope Francis has died. (Mere hours after meeting with—how is this real life—US Vice President James Donald Bowman, aka James David Hamel, who prefers to be called JD Vance .) We’ll be offering more…

Exalted Insurrectionists, Kremlin-Friendly Bombast, and a Smattering of Nazi Salutes — Notes from CPAC 2025

Annika Brockschmidt — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 04:48:45 EST

Matt and Mercedes Schlapp opened this year’s CPAC by celebrating: “Last year I said globalism was going to die,” Matt boomed, “and then it happened!” Then he turned to the audience and announced: “ message the globalists, at the World…

Trump's Cabinet (and Other) Picks Paint Picture of a Christian Nationalist 'Kakistocracy'

Annika Brockschmidt, Thomas Lecaque — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 01:01:51 EST

Benjamin Franklin’s hope and warning, “A republic, if you can keep it,” resonates with too many of us these days. This has especially been the case watching the president-elect nominate his Cabinet, a wishlist of personnel that perfectly embodies Trumpism’s…

White Nationalist Mottos, the Fate of Jews in the New Christian State, and 'Appeal to Heaven' Humor — Day 2 of NatCon 2024

Annika Brockschmidt, Ben Lorber — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 06:29:12 EDT

No friends on the “other side of the aisle”—only enemies In a morning panel of the second day of NatCon 2024, a group of Republican senators hammered home a confrontational message. Sen. Jim DeMint : “There is no reasonable consensus…

2023 CPAC Lived Down to Expectations, But Don't Buy the Narrative: The GOP is Not as Divided as You Might Think

Annika Brockschmidt — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 03:43:20 EST

Considering that CPAC is the largest conservative conference in the US, the line-up of their 2023 conference was distinctly unimpressive, with some notable names absent from the list of speakers . While Mitch McConnell hasn’t been invited to CPAC in…

Espionage Allegations Against Russian Church Raise Religious Freedom Issue in Ukraine

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 05:01:31 EST

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for “targeted closures” of “Moscow-backed” religious organizations in Ukraine, a more polite way of saying that he wants effectively to ban the Russian Orthodox Church . To be clear, the decree signed by…

As Tensions Escalate in the Balkans, the West Could Hand Putin a Valuable Weapon

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 17 Nov 2022 01:25:30 EST

Anyone who had “License Plates Start War” on their 2020s bingo card might be in for a pleasant surprise. Large crowds of ethnic Serbs recently gathered to demonstrate against a plan by the Kosovar government to gradually ban Serbia-issued license…

Putin's Violent Holy War Rhetoric Made it to the Christian Right Fringe — And There's Reason to Believe it'll Go Mainstream

Thomas Lecaque — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:30:57 EDT

It starts with a tweet: https://twitter.com/realRickWiles/status/1585375961033605120?s=20&t=DZQ… And it is, of course, not simply that. Shortly before, in support of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin appointing a “chief exorcist” against Satanism, he said : “Can you think of anybody, in the…

Putin Escalates Ukraine Invasion to 'Cosmic War' — But There is Hope

Mark Juergensmeyer — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:38:10 EDT

When Vladimir Putin recently announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine that were purported to have voted in favor of joining Russia, he did so in what’s been described as an “unhinged rant.” In this wide-ranging and often incoherent…

In Sermon on Birth of the 'Fatherland,' Putin's Patriarch Kirill Equates Invasion of Ukraine with Defense of Orthodox Faith

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 12:30:46 EDT

If you’ve been educated in North America or Western Europe, you might be forgiven for having never heard of the Battle of Kulikovo, a battle between Russian forces and the Golden Horde, on September 8, 1380, in which the Russian…

Unprecedented Anti-LGBTQ Statement By Orthodox Church in America Should Be Christian Nationalist Warning Sign to US Orthodoxy

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 01:48:17 EDT

Late last week, the Orthodox Church in America , the second largest Orthodox church body in the country, issued an unprecedented statement seeking to silence any discussion about same-sex relationships and the sacramental inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life…

With This Largely Overlooked Shakeup is the Russian Orthodox Church Looking to Westernize? Yes and No

Katherine Kelaidis — Tue, 14 Jun 2022 04:06:17 EDT

A major shakeup at the highest levels in the Russian Orthodox Church is offering new insight into the Moscow-based church’s internal struggles and strategic position towards the West — and oddly no one in the West seems to care. Metropolitan…

Moscow Suffers its Most High Profile Defection Yet

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 30 May 2022 03:43:19 EDT

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now over 100 days old. When the war began, there were two competing Orthodox churches in Ukraine: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), which was created and granted complete independence by the Patriarch of…

Putin Theo-Propaganda Minister Kirill Invokes 600 Years of History to Lay Claim to Ukraine — Here's What it Means

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 19 May 2022 01:33:01 EDT

On May 17, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow addressed the upper house of the Russian Parliament in a speech that highlighted the role of the Russian Orthodox Church and its primate as a propaganda agent par excellence for the Putin regime…

How Belief in Moscow as 'The New Rome' Explains Kirill's Astonishing Declaration That 'Russia Has Never Attacked Anyone'

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 09 May 2022 03:06:58 EDT

Saying outrageous, verifiably untrue things has sort of become Patriarch Kirill of Moscow’s brand. The chief Russian Orthodox cleric had a history of outrageous statements before the Russian invasion of Ukraine ( including calling the concept of human rights a…

Is This Tiny Divided Orthodox Nation the Next Front in Russia's Religious War?

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 05 May 2022 09:36:18 EDT

I’m writing from Iași, Romania, which was the capital of the Principality of Moldova between 1564 and 1859 and the capital of Romania between 1916 and 1918, as well as the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan of Moldavia and…

Sanctioning Patriarch Kirill Would Send a Strong Message — Is the Problem That He Doesn't Wear Mullahs' Robes?

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 01:29:31 EDT

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , sanctions against Russian officials have been the most visible and powerful form of support offered by the global community to the Ukrainian people. These sanctions have targeted high-ranking Russian officials…

Be Careful What You Wish For: The Downside of Kicking the Russian Orthodox Church Out of the World Council of Churches

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 03:40:58 EDT

Calls have grown for the Russian Orthodox Church to be expelled from the World Council of Churches (WCC) due to the support of the Moscow-based, Patriarch Kirill-led church for the Russian invasion of Ukraine . This effort has in recent…

Another Important Defection From the Russian Patriarchate Looms — The Fate of Orthodoxy in the West Hangs in the Balance

Katherine Kelaidis — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 05:33:32 EDT

As the rhetoric of the Russian Orthodox Church grew even more shocking and dangerous this week , an anonymous group of students at the famed St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris have sent a letter asking their local bishop…

The Russian Patriarch Just Gave His Most Dangerous Speech Yet — And Almost No One in the West Has Noticed

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 02:12:16 EDT

There’s little doubt that Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s Forgiveness Sunday Sermon last month received more attention than any Orthodox cleric’s sermon has received in the Western media in a long time. Beyond its frightening absurdity, it’s likely this attention is…

Palestinian Orthodox Christians, Desperate for Help, Have Caught the Attention of Russia

Katherine Kelaidis — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 05:26:06 EDT

In case you’re thinking that Ukraine is the only place in the world where Orthodox Christianity is entangled in a global hotspot, please turn your eyes to Jerusalem. Two days ago, following an eighteen-year struggle, members of the Israeli settler…

Holy Father, You're Not Helping: The Problem with the Pope's Plan to Consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Katherine Kelaidis — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 04:59:46 EDT

March 25th is the Feast of the Annunciation, the celebration of the day that the Angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to the Virgin Mary to announce that she would bear Christ. It is a date of great significance…

Failure to Grasp the Distinct Character and History of Eastern Christianity is Compromising Our Understanding of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

Katherine Kelaidis — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 01:14:17 EDT

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began three weeks ago, it’s likely you’ve heard the term Russian World (or Russkii Mir ). It’s easy to conflate this concept with nostalgia for the Soviet Union (it’s just another term for Russia…

'Russkii Mir,' the Russian Equivalent of 'Blood & Soil' Ideology at the Heart of Putin's War, Explained and Rejected by Theologians in New Statement

Daniel Schultz — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 04:52:10 EDT

A new statement by Orthodox Christian theologians—some of whom sign from Russia—dramatically illustrates what’s at stake in this war of (mostly) Christians against Christians, and what implications it has for the American scene. The statement sets its organizers in opposition…

Is Putin a 'Real' Christian? To Understand This Conflict We Need to Ask Different Questions

Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Robert Saler — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00:16 EDT

Vladimir Putin’s campaign of violence in Ukraine has brought to the fore questions about his longstanding religious connections, prompting scholars and journalists to challenge his well-marketed piety and seemingly deep devotion to Russian Orthodox spirituality — the latter of which…