Auteur: Ilya PLATOV
Executive summary: This article analyses relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the State in contemporary Russia, paying particular attention to the legacy of Russian political theology as a “deep cultural resource” (A.D. Smith). The study examines the historical Russian trajectory (Byzantine heritage, synodal period, Soviet atheism, post-Soviet transformations), the hardening of the legal framework (anti-extremism, “offence to religious feelings”, regulation of missions), and the function of public moralization assumed by orthodoxy in an asymmetric partnership with the state. Finally, the article shows how the war against Ukraine radicalizes this configuration by strengthening the political sacralization of the conflict, “the ecclesialization of the front” and the mobilization of the religious as a resource of legitimation. The conclusion proposes an alternative reading of Russian political theology through the thought of Vladimir Bibikhin.
Keywords: Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, State, Political Theology, Civil Religion, Government of Religious, War in Ukraine, Sacralization, Patriotism, Canon Territory, Russian World.
Abstract: This article examines relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state in contemporary Russia with particular emphasis on the legacies of Russian political theology as a “deep cultural resource” (A. D. Smith). The study analyzes the Russian historical trajectory (Byzantine legacy, Synodal period, Soviet state atheism, post-Soviet transformations), the tightening legal framework (anti-extremism legislation, “offense to religious feelings”, regulation of missionary activity), and the public moralizing role assigned to Orthodoxy within an asymmetrical partnership with the state. Finally, it shows how the war against Ukraine has intensified this configuration by reinforcing the political sacralization of war, the « ecclesialization of the front », and the mobilization of religion as a resource of legitimation. The conclusion offers an alternative reading of Russian political theology via the thought of Vladimir Bibikhin.
Keywords: Russia, Russian Orthodox Church, State, Political theology, Civil religion, Governance of religion, War in Ukraine, Sacralization, Patriotism, Canonical territory, Russkii mir.