Normally on this last Sunday before Lent I speak on the Orthodox doctrines of God's uncreated energies, particularly the Uncreated Light as evident in today's Gospel, the Transfiguration of Our Lord on Mt. Tabor.
However, to the world's chagrin, two Orthodox nations (really, both are pluralist societies, but the Orthodox Church is a major factor in both) are at war. Russia has invaded her southern neighbour on pretexts that fool no one.
St. Thomas Aquinas spills some ink in his Summa Theologiae regarding whether a war is just or not. He enumerates three conditions:
The person who is declares and leads the initiating side in the war (aggressor) must be the lawful sovereign authority of that side.
A just cause for the war, that is, to redress a wrong or regain a seizure, must exist.
The initiating sovereign authority must have good intention, that is, he or she must have no ulterior motive than the just cause.[1]
In the case of this conflict, Vladimir Putin is indeed the "lawful" authority, or at least the recognized de facto authority of the Russian Federation. However, a just cause for this war is sorely lacking. While he claims the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine as his goal, in reality the Ukrainian government is not formally or informally aligned with neo-Nazi forces; moreover, the current Ukrainian president is Jewish whose family has a heritage of Nazi resistance.[2] Finally, there is reason to believe that Putin and a newly Caesaro-Papist Moscow Patriarchate are looking at resurrecting the "Third Rome" of Russian Pride.[3]
Personally, I have friends both of Russian and Ukrainian extraction. A man who had been my mentor in things Orthodox is a bishop in the Ukrainian church. These peoples have diverged enough over the centuries that the one no longer has legitimate claim over the other. In light of this, as we look at our Sunday Gospel, the Father's injunction, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”[4] has largely been unheard.
Pray for a just peace in Russia and Ukraine. Pray for the spirit of God's humility fill the hearts of both sides of the fray. Pray for the protection of the Mother of God on those under unjust attack. Pray for discernment for our own best actions to manifest the will of God in this situation. I will not counsel you to take one measure over another, but I do counsel you to pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon us sinners.
Господи Иисусе Христе, Сыне Божий, помилуй нас, грешныxъ.
[1] Aquinas, St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, II-II.40.1
[2] Beauchamp, Zack, "Putin’s “Nazi” rhetoric reveals his terrifying war aims in Ukraine", Vox, February 24, 2022, https://www.vox.com/2022/2/24/22948944/putin-ukraine-nazi-russia-speech-declare-war
[3] cf. Fraser, Giles, "Putin's spiritual destiny", The Post: Unheard, February 24, 2022, https://unherd.com/2022/02/putins-spiritual-destiny/?fbclid=IwAR2JCue-aKHDlQJ5yUV3r4N9vIbMCtBcwCCj2Ntgs2BfYR2Ydn-LNefXMoI and Base, Diane Butler, "Next Year in Kyiv?" The Cottage, February 23, 2022, https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/next-year-in-kyiv?utm_source=url&fbclid=IwAR0QLJw87ofZApeWo4zSfBw5Ur3jcR3xX0c0Iau5NsdwtfCbovm47P8YdKk . My thanks to the Rev. Fr. Michael Wernick for pointing out these articles.
[4] St. Luke 9.35
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