Religion at the heart of understanding Russia’s claim on Ukraine

The Russian Orthodox church has fought for decades to link Russian identity with Orthodox identity “and somehow they did it”. Russia is claiming Ukraine as an inalienable part of its spiritual space and the consequences are invasion, death, mass exodus of refugees and fear. Now there are appeals for global religious leaders to challenge the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy in Moscow. In this Religion Media Centre briefing, hosted by Ruth Peacock, the issues were debated with Lord Rowan Williams the former Archbishop of Canterbury; Professor Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University and Orthodox Christian Studies Centre, New York; Katie Kelaidis, writer and historian; Father Stephen Platt, Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain and Ireland; and Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, Ukrainian Catholic church in London. Read the report on our website.
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