Does Holy Tradition really speak of the forgiveness of sins in war?

On October 18, 2022, one of the most prominent theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church, Priest Georgiy Maksimov, released a video called “Did the Patriarch say heresy?”, in which he analyzed in detail the statements of those hierarchs who declared that Patriarch Kirill’s words about the forgiveness of sins to soldiers on the battlefield are inconsistent with the dogma of the Church. Let us recall these words of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, spoken in the context of the Russian war in Ukraine: "The Church is aware that if someone, moved by a sense of duty, by the need to fulfill his oath, remains faithful to his calling and dies in the line of his military duty, he certainly commits an act tantamount to sacrifice. He sacrifices himself for others. Therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins he has ever committed.”

Father Georgy said that Patriarch Kirill was accused of heresy by the head of the Phanar, Bishop of the Finnish Church of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Arseniy (Heikkinen), Metropolitan of the Church of Greece Chrysostomos of Messinia, Archbishop of the OCA of San Francisco and Western America Veniamin. Maximov also placed Metropolitan Augustine of Bila Tserkva in this category (although he did not mention Patriarch Kirill). The priest also devoted part of his speech to criticism of the UOJ article “Unexpected Theology from Patriarch Kirill”, which highlighted this issue.

Therefore, we decided to analyze the arguments of Fr. Georgiy in a separate post. Not because in Ukraine they are trying to convict the Patriarch of something (as the theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church thinks), but in order to find out the truth. After all, the assertion that sins are forgiven in war can become a serious argument for someone to take part in it.

The speech of the priest is very long (more than an hour), but there are not so many facts on which he relies in an attempt to refute the critics of Patriarch Kirill’s sermon. These are fragments from the writings and sermons of the holy fathers, which, according to Fr. Georgy, said the same about the forgiveness of sins on the battlefield as Patriarch Kirill.

Let's take a look at these examples.

Saint Macarius of Moscow

Letter to Ivan the Terrible, 1552: “Should any of the Orthodox Christians in that battle suffer to the point of bloodshed for the holy churches and for the holy Christian faith and for a multitude of Orthodox people and then be alive, they will truly cleanse their former sins by the shedding of their blood.”

Indeed, the last words almost repeat what Patriarch Kirill said about the Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Only almost. The saint clearly writes: the blood of a warrior washes away his sins if he sheds it for the Church, faith and Orthodox Christians. In the Russian war in Ukraine, do we see Russian soldiers (including Muslims, pagans, Buddhists or atheists) fighting for the Church or faith? No, we don't. Moreover, Orthodox Christians oppose them on their own land. Therefore, the quote of St. Macarius is hardly appropriate.

Patriarch Hermogenes

2nd message to the supporters of False Dmitry, 1609: “To our former brethren, now we don’t even know what to call you ... Whoever you kill from our side of the blessed warriors – they all go to the kingdom of heaven, in endless joy to have fun with the martyrs saints, and we rejoice over these and we ask them to pray for us, so that the Lord may allow us be with them through their prayers. However, from your backsliding side, whoever is killed or dies a common death goes to hell and, according to the scriptures, any offerings for them in the holy churches are unpleasant before God and definitely rejected, and such go to suffer endlessly.”

It describes the situation from the time of troubles, when part of the boyars went over to the side of False Dmitry during the invasion of the Poles into Russia. Patriarch Hermogenes took this betrayal very emotionally. But do his words correspond to the teaching of the Church that murdered political conspirators inevitably go to hell and offerings for them in temples are not accepted by God? Big question. Likewise, the words that those who died at the hands of these conspirators necessarily go to the Kingdom of Heaven are doubtful. This message can be viewed more as an emotional exhortation to the traitors of the country in the hope of their "correction" than as reasoned theological reflections.

Hieromartyr Andronicus (Nikolsky)

“Superstition is a grave sin”, 1916: “Do not be afraid of any intimidation from the devil, but with faith stand cheerfully against the adversaries, so that the Lord cleanses your souls from all sins and sends the crowns of incorruption to those who laid their lives on the battlefield for them to join the other holy victorious martyrs."

Here the hieromartyr comments on the "prayers of happiness" circulated in the army, when a certain religious text was proposed to be read, copied and distributed to 9 people. The archbishop explains that this is a vile superstition from the devil, and it cannot be followed. He urges the soldiers to tear up the letters they receive and pray the prayers offered by the Church. At the end, the holy martyr encourages the soldiers and wishes them to receive the remission of sins from the Lord.

Firstly, it draws attention here that the soldiers in the trenches were generally engaged in rewriting prayers, that is, they fought with God on their lips. Secondly, the holy martyr nowhere claims that the very fact of fighting for the interests of the country guarantees them absolution. On the contrary, in another place he writes, “In war, soldiers constantly in the face of death, without any doubt, more than us sinners think about their sins and pray to God for their forgiveness.”

In other words, according to the hieromartyr, a warrior receives forgiveness of sins if he prays to God about it, and not at all because participation in the war "automatically" provides him with this forgiveness.

Hieromartyr Ioann Vostorgov

The “Military Rank” work: “Have you ever been to a military cemetery? ... Isn’t it here that thousands and tens of thousands of unknown martyr heroes, sufferers for faith and homeland, laid their bones.” The "Eternal memory of the warrior-martyrs killed in Port Arthur" work: "Lord, you took to yourself 11 thousand of our murdered brothers."

It should be noted here that Hieromartyr John was a staunch monarchist, chairman of the Russian Monarchist Party. Therefore, his works often contain elated patriotic pathos, sacralization of the fatherland and royal power. But even he, speaking about the heroes in the war, emphasizes that they suffered for their faith. In another work, he focuses on the fact that the Church glorified the soldiers for their fidelity to Christ, but not for their feats of arms: “The Church, blessing the army, prayed for it and sanctified very many, who were good soldiers and servants of the kings of the earth and in the same time as good warriors and servants of the King of Heaven.”

Saint Philaret of Moscow

“Large Christian Catechism of the Catholic Eastern Greek-Russian Church”: “Blessed and blissed are those who sacrifice their lives with faith in God, with love for their homeland <…> That truly invincible warrior, to whom the crown of martyrdom for faith and the homeland is as dear as the crown of victory <...> to make your life a sacred sacrifice of loyalty and love for your homeland, to come closer through self-sacrifice to the highest degree of holy love."

It should be noted here that Fr. Georgiy deliberately took three different fragments out of context, reading them as a single text.

For example, the first fragment was preceded by the words of the saint that “if, according to the fate of God, you should stand against the enemy, you should bear in mind that you are fighting for the beloved Fatherland, for the Holy Church against non-Christians, against the persecutors of Christianity, against offenders of the shrine of the worshiped places of the Nativity, Suffering and the Resurrection of Christ." Solely “under these special conditions” does the saint say that “blessed are those who sacrifice their lives with faith in God, with love for their Fatherland.”

Can we say that the soldiers of the Russian Federation in Ukraine are Christians who are fighting against the persecutors of Christianity? If we remember that among Ukrainians there are tens of thousands of parishioners of the UOC, then the answer is obvious.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

Letter to the Russian military and official Muravyov-Karsky, 1849: “Promote the thought Russian soldiers have that sacrificing their lives to the Fatherland, they sacrifice them to God and are numbered among the holy host of the martyrs of Christ.”

Here Fr. Georgiy also uses the quote out of context. The saint writes these words as a recommendation for the military commander on the education of soldiers. The homeland here is personified with the tsar. According to the peculiarities of the mentality of Russian Orthodoxy of that time, a sacrifice for the sake of the tsar was equated with a sacrifice to God. Elsewhere, the saint writes, “The Russians—not only warriors, but also bishops, and boyars, and princes—voluntarily accepted a violent death in order to preserve loyalty to the Tsar: because, by the nature of the Eastern Orthodox confession, the idea of loyalty to God and the Tsar is united into one for a Russian."

Ignatius (Brianchaninov) has been canonized by the Church, but does this mean that absolutely any of his words should be law for a Christian at all times? Today there is no tsar in the Russian Federation, respectively, there is no unity with God. Moreover, today the Church in the Russian Federation is separated from the state and, according to the law, is no better than other confessions. Therefore, it is hardly consistent to extrapolate these recommendations to the circumstances of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Archbishop Vassian

“Message to the Ugra” to Tsar Vasily III, 1480: “The praiseworthy Grand Prince Demetrius <…> who went for the feat for the sake of the Lord and is still praised and glorified not only by people, but also by God. <...> Those who labored with him until death received remission of sins from God and were honored with martyr crowns, just like the ancient martyrs who suffered from tormentors for the faith, died for the confession of the faith of Christ."

It's hard to say why Fr. Georgy cited this quote. It speaks of the battle of Demetrius Donskoy and his troops against the Mongol-Tatars, of defending their faith and their temples from the Gentiles. After all, it is obvious that the Church quite naturally considers those who shed their blood for the faith and Christ as martyrs.

Is it possible to project the battles of the Holy Prince Demetrius with the Tatars on the war of the Russian Federation against the Ukrainians? Did the Russian army attack the Ukrainians "for God's sake"? A rhetorical question.

Saint Demetrius of Rostov

“Teachings and Words”: “It was once asked under the Greek Tsar Nicephoros: how should one think about the salvation of those who die in battles for the divine and royal honor and for the integrity of Christianity? The issue was resolved as follows: if it is a great thing to die for one person, according to the Lord: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (Jn. 15:13), then it is even more a great thing to die for God and for the King, i.e. the Anointed One of God, and for all the multitude of the faithful. Truly, that there is no greater love than this, and they are worthy of a martyr's crown, as it was indicated during the once-time battle between Grand Duke Demetrius and the wicked Mamai.”

Here again the mention of Fr. Georgy of a similar quote causes confusion, since the expressions “for the honor of God” or “to die for God and for the tsar” are absolutely inapplicable to the modern war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. It is unlikely that there are those among the Russian soldiers who went to Ukraine to die for God. And it is even more strange to mention death for the tsar.

Venerable Maxim the Greek

"A letter to a friend." Fr. Georgy cites a question quoted by the monk: “Do you want to make sure that those who claim that the pious soldiers killed during the war with the wicked are honored as the righteous, i.e. the Kingdom of Heaven are right?”

Maksimov says that the monk answered in the affirmative, but this is not entirely true. Maxim the Greek, in response to his interlocutor, cited several sayings from the Holy Scriptures about the need for peace, and then summed up: “Do not be the first to start wars and fights with others, even if they are infidels or enemies, but have peace with everyone.”

Can we project the words of Maxim the Greek on the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine? An answer is hardly needed.

However, speaking of attacks on Christians by those who “seek to exterminate our pious and immaculate faith from the earth,” the Monk writes that if thousands of military leaders “are revered as holy and righteous for their faith in Christ ... then who will not agree that those who struggle together with them for the pious faith in Christ God before the shedding of their blood are remembered before God and receive reliable salvation?”

Consequently, the Monk quite clearly says that the soldiers receive salvation for their faith in Christ and the protection of the Church in battles against the wicked and non-Christians. What does this have to do with the current situation? Again, a rhetoricalquestion.

Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril

IX century, a sermon for the Saracens: “Our Christ-loving warriors with weapons in their hands protect the Holy Church, protect the sovereign, in whose sacred person they revere the image of the power of the King of Heaven, protect their homeland <...> and if they put their souls on the battlefield, the Church ranks them to the face of the holy martyrs and names them men of prayer before God.”

Again, Fr. Georgiy released an "uncomfortable" fragment. In this case, soldiers are considered martyrs, because they "protect their homeland, whose destruction will lead to the inevitable fall of the domestic power and shattering of the Gospel faith."

In other words, warriors fight for the Church and faith. And when they die, they become martyrs.

We are repeating the question – do the Russian soldiers in Ukraine defend the Gospel faith? And we know the answer.

Saint Nicholas of Serbia about the battle in Kosovo

“Both the virtuous prince and the great and small princes went to Kosovo with a resolute will to sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. There was a mysterious note singing in the consciousness and subconsciousness of the whole people that in Kosovo, Christ was giving out martyr's crowns of glory. Kosovo is the largest grave of martyrs killed on the same day.”

Father Georgiy says these are words about "Serbian soldiers who died in battle." But he "forgets" to say which one. This battle was against the Turks, against the conquering Muslims, who destroyed the people, faith and temples. Let us quote other words of the saint, about which Maximov was silent: “On the eve of the battle, the leader of the Serbs, Prince Lazar, had a heavenly vision and was asked which Kingdom he would choose: earthly or heavenly. The Prince chooses Heavenly, eternal. The whole army takes communion before the battle and perishes."

Can we draw at least some parallel with the war of the Russian Federation in Ukraine? We know the answer.

Venerable Paisios the Holy Mountaineer

Conversations with students: “Death in war can be very pleasing to God, because a person who died a heroic death sacrifices himself to protect others. Those who, out of pure love, sacrifice their lives to protect their neighbor are likened to Christ. These people are the greatest heroes, death itself trembles and fears them, because they despise it from love and thus gain immortality, finding the key to eternity under the tombstone and easily entering eternal bliss.”

This is the only example of Fr. Georgiy, where the defense of the faith and the Church is not directly mentioned. But does this mean that the Monk Paisius believed that all soldiers who die in the war enter into eternal bliss?

It seems this is about those who consciously sacrifice themselves in battle for the sake of their brothers, who accomplish a feat. There cannot be many of them, because for such an act to be undertaken, there must be a combination of determination and love, as St. Paisios writes. Everyone knows the feat of Alexander Matrosov, who closed the German bunker during the Great Patriotic War, protecting his comrades. There are many examples of the exploits of pilots who died taking a falling plane away from houses or convoys with people, although they could have ejected and stayed alive.

There are similar cases in the war, not only among soldiers. The Venerable Martyr Maria (Skobtseva) deliberately went to the Nazi gas chamber instead of a young girl, putting on her clothes and calling herself by her name.

These are the people, according to the words of St. Paisios, “those who, out of pure love, sacrifice their lives to protect their neighbor are likened to Christ.” And if they are likened to Christ, then it is quite natural that they enter into eternal bliss.

Do sins atone for suffering?

Fr. Georgiy touches on another issue – the redemption of sins by suffering. At this point the theologian of the Russian Orthodox Church accuses the UOJ of deceit and double standards. He cites a publication from the heading "Question to a Priest", where Fr. Andriy Havrylenko answers the question "Does the dying atone for his sins in illness and torment?" Fr. Andriy says, “Yes, such a person redeems sins, if he or she endures everything humbly, without grumbling and for the sake of the Lord… The one who suffers and endures for the sake of God is forgiven of sins.”

“Imagine how interesting it turns out,” says Fr. Georgiy Maksimov with a crooked smile, “when the UOJ says that a terminally ill person atones for his sins by his/her sufferings and is equated with martyrs, everything is fine here and there is no contradiction with the fact that only repentance cleanses from sin. But when Patriarch Kirill says something similar about a military feat, repeating the words of the saints, then this is already a new teaching, unacceptable in any form."

Priest Georgiy’s claims would be quite justified, if not for one thing. In his answer, Fr. Andriy Havrilenko says quite clearly: the sins of the suffering "for the sake of the Lord" are forgiven. If the Patriarch had mentioned that the sins of suffering for Christ, for faith, for God are washed away in war, then Fr. George would be absolutely right. But the problem is that the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church did not say a word about this. Let’s recall his quote: "...remains true to his calling and dies in the line of his military duty."

Summarizing all the above examples, cited by Fr. Georgiy Maksimov, we can draw several conclusions:

1. All of them (except for the citation of St. Paisius), refer to the defense of the faith, the Church and Christ by the soldiers as a justification for the forgiveness of sins in war. But since the Patriarch did not say anything about this in his sermon, the theologian's citation of these quotations is completely incorrect.
2. All attempts to find "correct" quotes from the "correct" saints in order to justify the current support of the authorities of the Russian Federation by the Russian Church, are similar to the methods of Protestants. This is precisely the Protestant technique - to take convenient quotations from the Holy Scriptures out of context in order to substantiate their concepts and ideologemes.
3. Some Russian saints of the 19th-20th centuries adhered to the thesis about the sanctity of the "faith-king-homeland" triad, where service to the tsar and fatherland was equated with service to God. Today, the slogan "for the faith, the tsar and the fatherland" is being revived in Russia. However, the current realities are completely different: there is no tsar in the Russian Federation, and the percentage of Orthodox soldiers (and the believing population in general) cannot be compared with pre- revolutionary Russia. That is, there is only one element left in the triad – “fatherland”. Does dying for it cleanse a person from sins? The answer is obvious.
4. Each state has its own state interests, including military ones. Moreover, the task of the authorities is to convince the population to fight for these interests. But in every war there are those who attack and those who defend. A Christian can consider fair only the war, where he defends his family, home, city, country from enemies. Can a follower of Christ go to war with someone, destroy, kill? And can you seriously expect that, having died in such a war, you will go to heaven? The answer is obvious.
5. Patriarch Kirill says that a Russian soldier in Ukraine is cleansed of sins when he “sacrifices himself for others.” However, it remains completely incomprehensible, for whom exactly does he make this sacrifice? The Patriarch did not mention faith and Christ. Then for whom and for what? For the entire Russian Federation? For some part of it? For some denomination, or maybe a political party? A soldier of any army in the world in any war fights "driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfill the oath"; otherwise, there simply cannot be. It turns out that when dying, each of them gets cleansed of sins?

Are Russian soldiers in Ukraine heroes?

At the end of the hour-long video, Father Georgiy tries to present the situation in such a way that Russian soldiers came to Ukraine for the sake of love and sacrifice. It demonstrates footage of the “heroic” actions of the Russian army, stories of Russian soldiers in Mariupol, and so on. But I would like to dwell on one interview separately – the story of a woman, according to whom the "Azov" people shot an Orthodox church from a tank. We don't know if this is true. Maybe it is, since many people do terrible things in war.

But does the example mean that Russian soldiers behave fundamentally differently?

According to the State Ethnic Policy of Ukraine, as of September 2022, the war partially or completely destroyed about 150 churches of the UOC in 14 regions. We know the state of the Sviatogorsk Lavra after the shelling, we see what the Russian soldiers turn the temples into when they are inside. Every day houses are destroyed and people die because of shelling. Energy facilities are being destroyed throughout Ukraine, ordinary civilians are left without electricity and heat. During the air raid, children sit in school bomb shelters with candles and flashlights. It does not let us say with certainty that the RF army is Christian, that it defends faith and God in Ukraine, as Fr. Georgiy Maksimov and other clergymen of the ROC have been trying to portray.

Patriarch Kirill is not accused of heresy in Ukraine as he is accused by the hierarchs of the Phanar. But one cannot fail to say that the words of the Primate of the Russian Church are extremely dangerous for believers. Attempts to imagine a situation that death in the performance of military duty washes away sins from a person can become a motive for someone to go to war – because if one dies without sin, then there is nothing to worry about.

In addition, it's one thing when it's a war where you defend your land, your faith and the Church (as, for example, the Serbs against the Turks in Kosovo). But it is completely different when a war is waged on the territory of another country against your Orthodox brothers. A war where the Gentiles are on the same side with you. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, called "SMO" a jihad, i.e. a war of Muslims against infidels, against Christians. In this context, the words about the forgiveness of sins in the "SMO" look absolutely absurd.

Maximov's video was shared on social networks by Exarch of Africa Metropolitan Leonid, Deputy Head of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Relations with Society and the Media Vakhtang Kipshidze, and other representatives of the Russian Church. This may mean that the theses set out in the manipulative video of Fr. Georgiy Maksimov are considered by the ROC as the position of the Church. This position, of course, helps to strengthen ties between the ROC and the authorities, but it exacerbates the misunderstanding between the ROC and Ukrainian believers, with brothers in the One Church of Christ.

Now any Russian citizens (even those of other faiths) appear much closer in the eyes of the ROC than its fellow believers from Ukraine. This is truly sad. After all, the Church stands above the world; the citizenship of Heaven is immeasurably higher and more important than national state passports. We’d like to hope that the tilt towards “Russian-centricity” within the ROC is temporary and will straighten up with the end of the war.