“Holy War” and Russia as “Katechon”
The Moscow Patriarchate on the Road to Heresy
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Moscow Patriarchate has committed itself to the Kremlin’s neo-imperial and revisionist plans. Drawing on the narrative of “Holy Rus'” and an apocalyptic ideology of war from the 16th century, it legitimizes Russia’s war against Ukraine. The church leadership under Patriarch Kirill has declared the war a “holy war” and is promoting the apotheosis of the soldier’s death.
(Osteuropa 5/2024, pp. 63–77)