On December 9-11, 2024, the “European Consultation on Just Peace” was held in Warsaw. It was organized by the Conference of European Churches and the Polish Ecumenical Council within the framework of the “Pathways to Peace” initiative. The slogan of the consultation was the biblical verse “Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24). At the invitation of the organizers, Sergii Bortnyk, head of the “Academic Initiative” foundation, took part at the consultation.
The consultation brought together representatives of Christian Churches from various European countries, including a significant delegation of representatives from Ukraine. In particular, the hierarchs of three Ukrainian Churches took part in the consultation – from the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ukraine, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and the Trans-Carpathian Reformed Church.
Sergii Bortnyk’s report was delivered at the panel discussion “Instrumentalisation and weaponisation of religion during war”. The main theses in this report were the following:
- The Russian Orthodox Church in its rhetoric uses religion as a weapon to a much greater extent than it is done in Ukraine,
- Yet in Ukraine over the past two years there is a clear tendency to increase the use of the religious factor in order to consolidate society,
- Conflicts around parishes and their transitions in the regions, which occur according to the established scheme and with the support of local authorities, do not find a reaction of condemnation from the central bodies – both from the state bodies and from the leadership of the OCU,
- On the example of the recent conflict around the cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Cherkasy, it can be argued that the situation with conflict transitions is especially annoying because they ignore the recently adopted law on the restriction of religious organizations “affiliated with centers in the aggressor country”, which discredits Ukraine in the eyes of the world community.
More information on the “Pathways to Peace” initiative can be found at https://ceceurope.org/church-response-to-ukraine/
Sergii Bortnyk’s report in English can be read on our website at the link https://www.academic-initiative.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/thesis-SB-Warsaw-CEC.pdf
On the website “Christians against war” you can find a Russian translation of this report – see https://shaltnotkill.info/doklad-prof-sergeya-bortnika-na-evropejskoj-ekumenicheskoj-konsultaczii-po-spravedlivomu-miru-v-ukraine-vse-eshhe-dejstvuet-princzip-politicheskoj-czelesoobraznosti-a-ne-verhovenstvo-zakona/
