Sergei Chapnin, a former senior insider of the Russian Orthodox Church now in exile, delivered a harsh critique of its current state. Chapnin asserts that the Russian Orthodox Church has become a tool of state power, abandoning Christian principles to support war, repression, and violence. The critique was prompted by recent events, including the labeling of Patriarch Bartholomew as 'the Antichrist' and Patriarch Kirill's description of critics as 'traitors to the Motherland'. He characterizes modern Russian Orthodoxy under Patriarch Kirill and Putin as a 'cheap quasi-religious cult' focused on geopolitical interests rather than faith. Chapnin believes the full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked the point where the Church definitively stopped relying on the Gospel.
30 days ago
Sergei Chapnin, a former senior figure in the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) now exiled in New York, declares the Moscow Patriarchate "no longer Christian."1
He describes it as a "spiritual catastrophe," having become a tool of state power that supports war, repression, and violence instead of following the Gospel.1
Chapnin's critique was prompted by recent incidents, including the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service labeling Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as "the Antichrist" and "the devil in the flesh."1
Other catalysts include Vladimir Putin's Christmas speech calling Russian soldiers "saviors" and Patriarch Kirill branding regime critics as "traitors to the Motherland."1
Chapnin argues modern Russian Orthodoxy under Kirill and Putin resembles a "cheap quasi-religious cult" prioritizing geopolitical interests over faith.1
The Church has abandoned Christian tradition, shifting "from the Gospel to propaganda," with demonizing language destroying Christianity's essence.1
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine marked the decisive moment when the official ROC "finally stopped relying on the Gospel."1
Chapnin notes the silence of Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, Putin's reputed spiritual advisor, amid ties to a recently imprisoned official.1
While the official hierarchy has "fallen away" from Christianity, becoming part of the state machinery, individual believers and communities may still live Christian lives.1
Chapnin, drawing from his insider experience, confirms the ROC's doctrinal and structural departure from Christianity.1
Examine the Church’s role in state politics and war
The Catholic Church has consistently understood its role in state politics not as a direct exercise of temporal power, but as a spiritual authority called to guide civil society toward the common good, rooted in divine law and natural reason. Historically, this involvement evolved significantly. In earlier centuries, when the Church held temporal territories, it occasionally applied just war principles to defend its interests, as seen under popes like Pius VI. However, from Pius IX onward, particularly after the loss of the Papal States in 1870, the Church emphasized its pacific mission, refusing military engagement and positioning the pope as a promoter of peace among nations. Leo XIII reinforced this by declaring the pope's proper function to be fostering international peace, a theme amplified by Benedict XV's mediation attempts during World War I.
This shift reflects a deeper theological principle: the Church's primacy is spiritual, testifying to Christ's truth amid political errors. Pius XII, in Summi Pontificatus, urged a return to Christ's kingship to counter ideologies dethroning Him, warning against spiritual bankruptcy from neglecting His law of truth and love. The state, deriving authority from God, must defend divine and human rights, as Pius XI taught in Divini Redemptoris, rejecting communist denials of hierarchy and transcendental origins. Yet, the Church does not seek to dominate politics; Vatican II's recognition of religious freedom marks a "hermeneutic of reform," affirming the modern state's neutrality on ultimate truths while upholding the dignity of conscience against coercion. This allows the Church to critique states morally—opposing injustice, totalitarianism, or religious persecution—without claiming coercive power. In liberal democracies, the Church accepts procedural pluralism but insists on protecting public faith from hatred, as Christ foretold.
Catholic tradition permits war under strict conditions, always as a last resort to protect the innocent and common good. St. Thomas Aquinas outlined three essential requirements: legitimate authority (sovereign power declaring war for the common weal), just cause (avenging wrongs or punishing faults), and right intention (advancing good or avoiding evil, not vengeance or aggrandizement). Wars lacking these are sinful, and even just wars condemn passions like cruelty. Aquinas permitted tactical deceptions like ambushes, as they align with justice in defense, countering objections that they violate fidelity or the Golden Rule.
The Compendium of the Catechism upholds this: governments have a right to lawful self-defense, but war demands humane treatment of noncombatants, wounded, and prisoners; mass destruction or genocide is gravely sinful, obliging resistance to such orders. To avoid war, address root causes like arms accumulation, injustice, discrimination, and revenge. Recent bishops echo this: while wars bring evils outweighing benefits, just aggression resistance uses lethal force proportionately. Clergy, however, are exempt from fighting, as their deputation to spiritual goods renders combat unbecoming, though they may counsel just wars.
Modern popes have elevated peacemaking as the Church's core political role, presuming against war amid nuclear threats. Paul VI, invoking Pacem in Terris, called for preventing local conflicts from escalating globally and building peace through justice, freedom, and development—proposing a world fund from military spending for the underdeveloped. Pius XII, amid World War II's outbreak, saw war's tempests as calls to Christ's kingship for salvation. John Paul II decried the arms race, urging verifiable disarmament while respecting national security, consistent with Vatican II.
This peacemaking flows from the Church's self-understanding: post-Papal States, popes focus on spiritual leadership, rarely invoking bellum justum in their diplomacy. The Church fosters trust, cooperation, and ethical choices for lasting peace, as in Populorum Progressio's vision of development as "the new name of peace."
Controversies arise over perceived discontinuities, like Vatican II's religious freedom versus Pius IX's state favoritism for Catholicism. Yet, this is development, not rupture: earlier views addressed libertas ecclesiae amid civil encroachments; today, the Church affirms states' created order while rejecting coercion in faith. Popular sovereignty, defended by thinkers like Bellarmine, undergirds modern doctrine, obliging rulers to serve all citizens' common good without infringing natural rights.
In politics, the Church critiques errors (e.g., communism's denial of rights) and promotes solidarity, as Pius XII noted amid global threats. On war, it balances defense rights with anti-war presumption, condemning modern horrors like atomic weapons.
In summary, the Church engages state politics as moral prophet and peacemaker, guiding toward Christ's reign without temporal rule. Just war remains licit but rigorously limited; peace is the norm, pursued through justice and disarmament. This fidelity to tradition equips the faithful to navigate conflicts redemptively.