Church leaders have branded President Vladimir Putin the ‘Anti-Christ’ after the Russian leader said his war with Ukraine was part of a “holy mission”.
Putin called Russian soldiers “warriors” who were acting “as if at the Lord's behest” in a speech marking Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday.
Despite appearing to position himself as a saviour using messianic messaging, Putin is “more like the Anti-Christ”, according to Father Myroslav Pushkaruk, a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“Trying to do this with power and violence, which is not about love, not about Christian values is more like the Anti-Christ in the Christian world,” the Rector at the Paris of the Protection of the Holy Mother of God in central London told The Independent.
Last year, the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church said that Putin’s “Russian World” ideology was heretical.
The teaching suggests that Russia, Ukraine and Belarus are part of “Holy Russia”, ideas that Putin has used to justify his expansion into Ukraine as part of a wider cosmic purpose. At a conference in Helsinki last month, over 90 church leaders condemned the ideology.
Putin’sremarks have also drawn backlash from across the UK as church leaders criticise Russia’s military campaign as a “slaughtering”.
“Seen from a Christian perspective, you don’t use unholy means to pursue a holy mission,” former Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines told The Independent. “When that unholy means involves slaughtering people, invading their country, and telling lies.”
Father Myroslav works with military personnel and is often in touch with those on the frontlines of the battlefield in Ukraine, offering people affected psychological and social support amid the brutal and relentless battle that is now entering its fourth year.
“[Russia’s] message is totally misleading and goes against with all the teachings of the Christian world,” he continued. “They are using the teaching to serve their needs, it has nothing to do with Christian values. It is heresy.”
Father Taras Khomych, a Catholic Priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and senior lecturer in Catholic Religious Studies at Liverpool Hope University, warned of a pattern in concerning Putin’s language.
He called the Russian leader’s religious claims “idolatry” and a “distortion of Christianity”, adding: “It exalts war, destruction and death in order to lay the foundations for Russia’s territorial claims.” He added: “This is a devilish demonic way of using the word of God.”
As US-backed peace talks in Paris aimed at halting the fighting continue, Father Taras urged caution.
“It’s difficult to negotiate with someone who is as radical as Putin,” he said. The ideology must be tackled at the root if a ceasefire is to be secured.
“The war of Russian aggression started with the war of ideology and the full scale aggression was just the consequence of it. In order to stop the war we need to address this ideology and stop the ideology that fuels the war.”