From “Defending Democracy from its Christian Enemies” by David P. Gushee
Stroop at the time already noted that Russian foreign policy adventurism has been underwritten by the Russian Orthodox hierarchy, vis-a-vis, most crucially, Ukraine. Here Russian imperialist,expansionist, or simply vengeful resentments and ambitions, together with the Russian Orthodox fight for preeminence in the Eastern Orthodox world, have led to a clear convergence of interest between the Putin regime and church leaders. Both wanted Ukraine subordinated to, if not absorbed by, Russia. Both considered the loss of control over Ukraine a blow to their interests and ideology. Both cooperated to subordinate Ukraine. This was clear long before the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which the Russian Orthodox patriarch Kirill was the world’s only major religious leader to support.
In an infamous sermon on March 6, 2022, Patriarch Kirill treated the Russian military action as merely a response to a supposed Western attack on the Donbas region of Ukraine, claimed by Russia, on account of the faithful Orthodox region’s unwillingness to host gay pride parades.
Gay parades are designed to demonstrate that sin is one of the variations of human behavior. That’s why in order to enter the club of those countries, it is necessary to hold a gay parade…And we know how people resist these demands and how this resistance is suppressed by force. So it’s about force imposing the sin condemned by God’s law, and therefore by force imposing on people the denial of God and His truth. Therefore what is happening today in the field of international relation is about human salvation, where humanity will be, on which side of God the Savior.
Patriarch Kirill’s argument should be taken seriously for what it reveals. He starts with the belief that homosexuality is a denial of God, God’s truth, and God’s law. THe good Orthodox people of the Donbas (supposedly) resisted the gay pride parades that mark the acceptance of this sin. Their resistance was (purportedly) suppressed by force – presumably, by the government of Ukraine. Russia is therefore contributing to human salvation by freeing the Donbas region from gay pride parades and the Orthodox believers from having to tolerate them.
In this sense, the invasion of Ukraine – understood by Putin to be a reclaiming of a part of greater Russia, in any case – is a contribution to God’s work. If successful, it will also happen to (re)grow Russian territory and help make of Vladimir Putin a world-historical Russian leader akin to Peter the Great. If successful, it might not be his last such effort to claim more territory in his neighborhood. This series of moves leverages homophobia by linking it to ultranationalism, imperialism, and the cult of strongman rule. It is a toxic combination.