Orthodoxy Beyond Nationalism - In Light of the Ukraine-Russia Ecclesial Crisis
By: Bishop Stephen
Introduction: When Nation and Church Become Entangled
The ongoing ecclesial crisis surrounding Ukraine and Russia has exposed one of the greatest temptations facing Orthodox Christianity in the modern world: the temptation to confuse the Kingdom of God with the interests of a nation.
The conflict has involved questions of autocephaly, canonical territory, ecclesiastical recognition, historical memory, political power, and national identity. Since the granting of a Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019, relations between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church have been severely strained. The war that began in 2022 intensified those divisions and transformed a long-standing ecclesiastical dispute into a global Orthodox crisis.
Yet beneath the canonical debates lies a deeper spiritual issue. Orthodox Christians must ask whether nationalism has begun to shape ecclesiology rather than ecclesiology shaping national identity.
The Church has always existed among nations, but she can never become captive to them.
I. The Church Is Not a Nation
One of the most remarkable features of Pentecost was that the Gospel immediately transcended ethnic boundaries. The Holy Spirit did not create a single sacred nation. Instead, He gathered people from every nation into one Body.
St. Luke records that representatives from numerous peoples heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own languages (Acts 2:5–11). The miracle was not the elevation of one culture above another but the gathering of all cultures into Christ.
St. Paul later writes:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek... for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
This does not abolish ethnicity, language, or culture. Orthodoxy has always embraced local traditions. Greek Orthodoxy, Russian Orthodoxy, Serbian Orthodoxy, Romanian Orthodoxy, and Arab Orthodoxy each possess unique cultural expressions.
Yet these identities are secondary.
The primary identity of every Orthodox Christian is membership in the Body of Christ.
As St. John Chrysostom reminds us:
“The Church is not bounded by walls or nations but embraces the whole world.”¹
Whenever national identity becomes the controlling principle of ecclesial life, the Church's catholicity is diminished.
II. The Ancient Condemnation of Ethnophyletism
The Orthodox Church has already confronted this issue before.
In 1872, the Council of Constantinople condemned ethnophyletism—the principle that ecclesiastical organization should be determined primarily by ethnicity or nationality.²
The council declared that the Church cannot be divided according to racial or national distinctions because such divisions contradict the Gospel's universal character.
This condemnation remains profoundly relevant.
Ethnophyletism does not only occur when churches are organized around ethnicity. It also appears whenever national interests become the lens through which ecclesiastical decisions are judged.
A Church may preserve perfect canonical structures while still succumbing to a nationalist spirit.
The danger is subtle because patriotism itself is not sinful. Love for one's homeland can be virtuous. Many saints served their nations faithfully.
The problem arises when loyalty to nation supersedes loyalty to Christ and His Church.
III. The Ukraine–Russia Crisis as a Warning
The ecclesial crisis in Ukraine illustrates the dangers of this temptation.
On one side, many Ukrainians view ecclesiastical independence as inseparable from national independence after centuries of Russian political and ecclesiastical influence. Historical grievances, questions surrounding the transfer of the Kyivan Metropolia in 1686, and the desire for a local Church have all contributed to the movement for Ukrainian autocephaly.
On the other side, many within the Moscow Patriarchate regard Ukraine as inseparable from the historical inheritance of the Baptism of Rus' and view Constantinople's actions as a violation of canonical order.
The tragedy is that ecclesiastical discourse often becomes indistinguishable from political discourse.
In some circles, being "Orthodox" is increasingly equated with being loyal to a particular national narrative. This phenomenon has appeared on multiple sides of the conflict.
The Church risks becoming a servant of political memory rather than a witness to the Kingdom of God.
IV. The Sacralization of National Projects
Perhaps the greatest danger emerges when the Church begins to sacralize national ambitions.
Throughout history, Christians have often attempted to portray political conflicts as sacred struggles uniquely blessed by God. Yet the Fathers consistently warned against identifying earthly kingdoms with the Kingdom of Heaven.
Recent years have seen widespread concern regarding the close relationship between Russian state power and certain ecclesiastical narratives that portray the war in explicitly spiritual and civilizational terms. Various observers have noted the extent to which religious language has been employed in support of national objectives.
At the same time, Orthodox Christians must resist the temptation to simply replace one form of ecclesiastical nationalism with another. The cure for Russian nationalism is not Ukrainian nationalism. The cure for Greek nationalism is not Slavic nationalism. The cure for every form of ecclesiastical nationalism is catholic Christianity.
St. Augustine, though writing in a Western context, expressed a truth embraced throughout Christian history: the City of God and the earthly city must never be confused.³
When bishops become political symbols and churches become national institutions first and spiritual communities second, the Church's prophetic witness is weakened.
V. The Church's True Citizenship
Orthodox worship constantly reminds us of our true citizenship.
At every Divine Liturgy we pray:
“For the peace of the whole world.”
Not merely for our nation.
Not merely for our people.
Not merely for our side.
The Church's prayers are universal because her mission is universal.
St. Paul writes:
“Our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20).
This verse does not abolish earthly loyalties, but it places them in proper order.
The Christian belongs first to Christ.
The martyr does not die for a flag but for the Gospel.
The saint is remembered not because of nationality but because of holiness.
The Kingdom transcends every earthly border.
VI. Learning from the Saints
The saints provide a corrective to nationalism.
Anthony the Great was Egyptian.
John Chrysostom was Syrian.
Maximus the Confessor was Byzantine.
Seraphim of Sarov was Russian.
Nikolai Velimirović was Serbian.
Yet none are venerated because of nationality.
They are saints because they belonged wholly to Christ.
The calendar of the Church is itself a rebuke to nationalism. Saints from every land stand together in one communion. The Church venerates them not as representatives of competing national projects but as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.
VII. A Way Forward
The Orthodox response to the Ukraine–Russia ecclesial crisis must therefore be neither indifference nor partisanship.
We should care deeply about canonical order, ecclesiastical unity, and justice.
We should pray for peace, reconciliation, and truth.
We should refuse simplistic narratives that reduce complex ecclesiastical realities to political slogans.
Most importantly, we must recover a genuinely catholic vision of Orthodoxy.
The Church existed before modern nation-states.
She will outlive them all.
The Gospel cannot be reduced to Russian interests, Ukrainian interests, Greek interests, American interests, or any other national agenda.
Christ did not establish a Russian Church, a Ukrainian Church, or a Greek Church.
He established His Church.
Conclusion: The Kingdom Above Every Nation
The Ukraine–Russia ecclesial crisis has revealed deep wounds within world Orthodoxy. It has exposed unresolved canonical questions, historical grievances, and painful divisions.
Yet it has also presented an opportunity.
The crisis forces Orthodox Christians to ask where their ultimate loyalty lies.
If our primary identity is national, then every ecclesiastical dispute becomes a political battle.
But if our primary identity is baptismal, then even amid disagreement we remain brothers and sisters in Christ.
The future health of Orthodoxy depends upon recovering this vision.
For the Church's mission is not to baptize nationalism.
It is to transform nations through the Gospel.
The Orthodox Church is at her strongest when she remembers that she belongs not to Moscow, Kyiv, Constantinople, Washington, Athens, Belgrade, or Bucharest.
She belongs to Christ.
And His Kingdom is not of this world.
Footnotes
- John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians, Homily 36.
- Council of Constantinople of 1872, Synodal Definition Against Ethnophyletism (1872).
- Augustine of Hippo, The City of God, Book XIX.
- Historical background concerning Ukrainian ecclesiastical independence movements and the development of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
- Information regarding the ongoing ecclesial divisions between Moscow and Kyiv and parish realignments since the war.
- Analysis of the relationship between religious rhetoric, nationalism, and the war in Ukraine.
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