THE MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE AND THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

In describing church-state relations, the concept of symphonia is used in Orthodox tradition. It refers to the loyal and mutual cooperation between these two distinctive institutions for the sake of the people, who are simultaneously members of the church and subjects or citizens of the state2. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has addressed questions related to this concept in a document called “The Basis of the Social Concept”3, officially approved by the Church in August 20004. The leader of the committee was Patriarch Kirill (Gundiaev), who was the head of the Department for External Church Relations at that time5. This document lists sixteen areas of church-state co-operation. The first three are: (a) peace-making on international, interethnic and civic levels and promoting mutual understanding and co-operation among people, nations and states; (b) concern for the preservation of morality in society; (c) spiritual, cultural, moral and patriotic education and formation. This is followed by a list of areas in which the clergy and canonical church structures cannot support the state or cooperate with it.