Nearly one thousand years ago, the western Crusaders were on their way to the holy land when they were passing through Constantinople. Previous to this, Emperor Alexios Comnenos sent a message to the Pope requesting that mercenaries be sent to Constantinople to help recover territory that had been lost to the Turks in 1071. What the Emperor got to his horror were 100,000 crazed religious fanatics from western Europe.
Pope Urban had completely distorted the Emperor’s original intent. The Emperor had asked for mercenaries to recover territory in Anatolia since the Turks posed a threat to the Empire as a whole. The Pope had fantasies about liberating Jerusalem and so illiterate and uneducated Latin fanatics signed up for the Crusade which was something entirely different from what the Greeks wanted.
A discussion was had between the Greek Orthodox Emperor and the leaders of the Crusades. The Crusades were bloodthirsty and insisted that killing Muslims for Jerusalem would result in the remission of their sins. The Emperor insisted that murder was a sin no matter the religion of the victim.
The Emperor pointed out that the Christian Empire of the Greeks only waged war for defensive purposes. Since the Turks controlled large portions of Anatolia, the security of the Empire was under threat. The Emperor also suggested that the wars of the Empire were imperial wars, not religious wars. Orthodoxy does not have holy wars.
The Crusaders had entirely different views. The Greeks cited the canon of Saint Basil (a part of Orthodox canon law) in which a soldier who has killed in times of war is denied communion for a period of two or three years. This is not to suggest that a Christian soldier sinned by doing his duty to his country, but the Church recognizes that enemy soldiers are people created in the image of God.
Debates could be held about the righteousness of the Greek War of Independence, World War Two, and other conflicts. Circumstances vary and while the Roman Catholics have developed a doctrine for “just wars”, the Orthodox do not have the equivalent. Orthodoxy does not endorse war but recognizes that a country has a right to self defense as the Church in Byzantium recognized the Empire’s right to defend itself.
On the matter of Ukraine. The Russians should have probably restrained themselves and avoided invading Ukraine. Being anti war, I am inclined to suggest Russia may be in the wrong for invading Ukraine. However, the Russians made attempts at diplomacy and were rebuffed.
The Biden administration refused to recognize Russia’s security interests and concerns about being encircled by NATO. Therefore, the issue becomes somewhat blurred although the anti war position may have been the ideal strategy. What is beyond dispute is that war would not have started under a Trump administration.
The western world has a history of warmongering. A thousand years ago the Crusaders committed genocide against Muslims and Jews in the name of Christianity. Today, the Crusades come in the form of NATO and under the guise of democracy.
The United States and NATO have bombed Serbia, invaded Iraq, and engaged in war against Syria. These wars have led to the destruction of Eastern Christianity much as the Crusades led to the attack on Constantinople in 1204 which was left in devastation. The Biden administration like the Clinton and Bush administrations is intent on war.
Donald Trump was an attractive candidate mainly because of his anti war stance which in many ways resembled the position of the Christian Emperors of Constantinople. Anti war in principle but war when necessary and in self defense. The Clinton, Bush, and Biden administrations support ideological wars which is in the tradition of the Crusades. The neoconservatives and the neoliberals of today believe as the Crusaders did that the ends justify the means.
None have ever taken into account the misery of innocent people. From a Christian standpoint we should take into consideration the misery of ordinary people in Ukraine. They are the victims of the Russians to an extent, but they are more the victims of the west which exacerbated tensions.
Orthodox Church leaders have sent messages to President Putin asking for a cessation of hostilities. His beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Ukraine is among those who have asked for an end to the war. There should be a ceasefire and negotiations should begin between Washington, Kiev, and Moscow.
Washington needs to get rid of the arrogant view that it has the right to intervene anywhere in the world. The basis for peace should be that Ukraine maintain a neutral status outside of NATO in return for Russian withdrawal from occupied territories. Land for peace.
Being anti war and opposed to the invasion of Ukraine does not mean one does not sympathize with Russia. The Russians have serious grievances with the west. A permanent peace and reconciliation between Russia and the west is possible as demonstrated by the administration of Donald Trump.
The Trump administration did not provoke the Russians and there was never any war over Ukraine. If the hysteria emanating from the media and the Democratic Party had not made it impossible, America and Russia during the Trump years might have achieved a real and genuine peace.
What some of us feared from the Democrats has come to pass.