The forced politicization of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine may easily backfire. As the Ukrainian government is now engaged in a militant, atheistic, Soviet Union-type of manhunt and persecution against traditional Orthodox Christians, despite their pledged loyalty to Ukraine, this may be a mistake that will impact the Russia-Ukraine war in unexpected ways. What happens domestically when you begin attacking your own history? "The Ukrainian authorities are sadly ignorant of the spiritual laws that govern the universe. Instead, they spit upon the Church and the saints," says Metropolitan Luke of Zaporozhye. Almost half of the Ukrainian population adhere to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. As this church now is demonized in the West as "Russian," a quick history lesson may be needed. Kyiv was the very spiritual seat of the early Christian settlements in Kyivan-Rus. The name "Russia" stems from "Rus," a term that the Vikings used to call the great lands surrounding Kyiv over a thousand years ago. The links between Viking kings, Kyiv and Novgorod was strong, as the early sources explain well. The Vikings were Orthodox Christians with strong links to Kyiv.
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