The Russian Orthodox Church’s Wartime Public Diplomacy in Ukraine

This book reveals how the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) has systematically transformed religious messaging into a strategic tool of warfare, supporting Russian military objectives while undermining Ukrainian resistance. It introduces an innovative interdisciplinary framework merging faith diplomacy with wartime public diplomacy theory, enhanced by framing analysis. This pioneering approach offers scholars a powerful new lens for examining religious communication during armed conflicts worldwide and provides rare insights into grassroots clerical collaboration with Russian forces. Drawing from extensive analysis across eight Ukrainian dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate, the author documents how local priests and monks actively supported Russian militant operations through carefully crafted theological messaging. It will be essential reading for scholars of religious studies, war studies, international relations, and anyone examining the intersection of faith and geopolitical conflict.