Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church: The Myth of Russia as a Defender of Traditional Values Is a Trap Set by the “Russian World”
Russian propaganda employs the concept of traditional values to justify state ideology and war, using it to supplant Christian teachings. His Beatitude Sviatoslav, Father and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, emphasized this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Foglio.
In response to a question about the perception of Russia as a defender of Christian values, the Primate urged people to distinguish between the teachings of the Gospel and what the Russian authorities are propagating.
“Russian propaganda is based on so-called traditional values. And the tradition they refer to is by no means Christian. They exploit family values for military purposes and preach a theology of death rather than resurrection. This has absolutely nothing to do with Christian values or God’s commandments,” noted His Beatitude Sviatoslav.
According to him, behind this rhetoric lies the subordination of religion to the interests of the state.
“This is a civic religion whose values coincide with those of the Russian state. Therefore, talk of traditional values is an ideological trap—a trap set by the ideology of the ‘Russian World,’” emphasized the Head of the UGCC.
Read also:
The infamy of Russian barbarism. Interview with the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for “Il Foglio”
As an example, the Primate referred to the stance taken towards Orthodox priests who refuse to support the war.
“An Orthodox priest who does not want to pray for the war, but prays for peace, is not merely a dissident—he is considered a heretic. Wherein lies his fault? It lies in the fact that he does not support this ‘new theology,’ which combines elements of Christianity with the communist and Marxist ideology of the Soviet Union in the form of a new kind of religious syncretism,” he explained.
His Beatitude Sviatoslav concluded that it is within this context that the myth of Russia as a defender of traditional values is shaped: “This has nothing to do with either the Christian tradition or the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The UGCC Department for Information
