The Catholic theologian Regina Elsner has called for the strengthening of liberal forces in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox Church played an “enormous role” in the war of aggression against Ukraine because it supported a “religiously charged war ideology”, Elsner said on Tuesday evening at the Catholic Academy in Berlin.
For centuries, however, there had also been a currently suppressed tradition in the Russian Orthodox Church of “lively exchange” with theological developments in Western Europe, which must be promoted, said the University of Muenster’s Eastern Church expert.
Fled
At present, however, this was only possible by enabling Russian Orthodox theologians who had fled abroad to revive the suppressed liberal traditions of their Church, for example through support programs, said Elsner. In Russia itself, this was hardly possible because the Orthodox Church there was still heavily dependent on the state and therefore did not address social demands for more freedom.
In Ukraine, on the other hand, the past 30 years had shown what changes were possible when society exerted pressure on the Orthodox Church, she said. This development was a “horror scenario for Russia” and was one of the causes of the war.
At the event, Elsner was speaking with the philosopher Vittorio Hoesle about the invasion of Ukraine. Hoesle also opposed “giving up hope that people change.” At the same time, he warned against “underestimating the power of traditions”. With regard to Russian Orthodoxy, he said he was “not very optimistic”.
*Originally reported by KNA Germany.
