Pavlo Smytsnyuk

Dancing Tango with the Enemy: National and Religious Identity
Mirrored in the Other
Abstract. The article analyses the mechanism of identity construction through reference to the “other”, especially to the enemy. Through critical engage- ment with Carl Schmitt, René Girard and other relevant literature, the author describes the ideological conflict as a tango dance, in which one partner tries to react and anticipate the other’s movements. Partners do not just meet, they can become one and the same, one body. In particular, the article shows how identity construction through the mechanism of othering takes place within the Russian political and religious context, and suggests viewing Russia as a mirror in which certain undesirable aspects of Ukraine’s identity construction can be grasped.

I approach pandemics as an icon, an image of the human predicament.
First, taking pandemics and the Eucharist as my departure point, I would like to claim that COVID-19, and the impossibility of sharing a cup (both Eucharistic and gastronomic) presents an image of estrangement between people, and between humankind and nature, on the one hand, and a situation of fear and self-centredness, on the other. It reveals to us something about who we are: distrustful and fearful of other people.
Second, human fear, otherwise well hidden, has emerged in all its glory during this pandemic. The reaction towards COVID-19—both in terms of belief in science, and increasing religiosity—reveal the degree to which self-preservation is a priority in human life, and the extent to which human life, and its religious dimension, is conditioned by fear.
My third point revolves around the ‘hiddenness’ of coronavirus. Covid is a metaphor for intangible evil. The harm we cause to our plan etistheproductof a sinfulness that we are neither fully conscious of, nor deliberately consent to. I w ill build upon Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov to reflect upon human guilt—unexplainable, perhaps even incomprehensible—before others.
Fourth, both pandemics and the ecological crisis, reveal to us that, to use Pope Francis’ expression, “we are all in the same boat”. I will argue that one of the implications of this insight is that the survival and wellbeing of a person is possible through, rather than at the expense of, the wellbeing of others. In other words, the crisis points us towards the transcendence of the dichotomy ofegoism vs. altruism.

The Holy See Confronts the War in Ukraine: Between Just War Theory and Nonviolence. This paper explores Pope Francis' and the Holy See's reaction to the war in Ukraine, and attempts to explain the logic behind it. After introducing the Holy See's statements since the start of Russia's aggression, the author reads them through the background of Catholic social teaching. In particular, he claims that the ambiguities of the Holy See's position are due to the unresolved tension between the traditional just war approach and a tendency towards nonviolence. The latter has acquired prominence over the last decades, in particular with Francis' Fratelli Tutti. The author concludes that the war in Ukraine represents a pivotal moment in the Catholic Church's thinking on war and peace.

the cathOlic resPOnse tO the russia-ukraine War
Pope Francis has been extremely outspoken about Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, having made more than one hundred statements during the first year of the war. This article analyses the key messages from Pope Francis and the Holy See’s leadership, and proposes several interpretations. The manner, in which the Holy See addresses the morality of providing military aid to Ukraine should be read in the context of its treatment of other armed conflicts. Though Kyiv viewed Vatican’s statements as belated and tepid, the Holy See was much more explicit on this matter, compared to its treatment of other cases, e.g. the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Vatican’s reaction to the war in Ukraine is unintelligible without taking into account its shift from just war theory to a just peace approach, which has been underway in Catholic social teaching over the last few decades. Finally, the Vatican’s neutrality, stipulated by the Lateran treaties, acquires a new meaning under the first Latin American pope, Francis, who refuses to interpret geopolitical events from a Western point of view.

This article shows how war is restructuring the configuration of religious life in Ukraine as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion. Following a short introduction, which documents churches' initial reactions to the war, I focus on three issues. First, I examine the ways in which the war exacerbates existing tensions within Ukrainian Orthodoxy, echoing the divide within world Orthodoxy. Second, I analyse the challenges faced by Ukrainian Catholics in relation to the Holy See's position on the war, which is marked by neutrality and a propensity towards nonviolence. Third, I delineate a few trajectories, which could allow churches to be more proactive in playing a role in peacemaking and future reconciliation.

The articles in this volume reflect upon divisions within the Orthodox churches, taking recent events in Ukraine as a case study. In my article, I explain that the fault line, inspired by the Constantinople vs. Moscow split, exists not only within the world of Orthodoxy, but also beyond. In fact, with the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), other Christian denominations and ecumenical institutions—both within and outside Ukraine—have been drawn into the conflict, and forced to choose sides. This article explores the issue, with particular attention given to the Catholic-Orthodox relations.
At the international level, the autocephaly of the OCU, and the subsequent break of communion between Moscow and Constantinople, jeopardizes the official theological dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. This dialogue, conducted within the framework of a Joint Commission, has been traditionally marked by high levels of inter-Orthodox tensions, but now, with the departure of Moscow, risks losing its representativeness. The Ukrainian crisis might have repercussions on multilateral ecumenical relations as well, especially if the OCU, supported by Constantinople, decides to seek membership within international bodies, such as WCC or CEC. 
As far as the Ukrainian context is concerned, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC) has been nurturing a rather positive relationship with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Nothing of the sort has ever occurred between UGCC and the Patriarchate of Moscow. I claim that it was the desire to have a legitimate and open-minded interlocutor on the Orthodox side, rather than the patriotic ethos of Ukrainian Catholics, that has led to such a quick and public embrace of the new Orthodox church by the UGCC. The Heads of both the OCU and the UGCC have immediately expressed their desire to work on a developing of a roadmap for an intense dialogue. However, almost two years after the proclamation of the OCU’s autocephaly, there has been practically no sign that those declarations will be realised any time soon. I highlight the possible causes of this failure.
Both the Latin rite Catholic church in Ukraine and the Protestants have been rather silent regarding the inter-Orthodox crisis. However, with the passing of the time and the solidification of the inter-jurisdictional borders of their Orthodox partners, both Roman Catholics and Protestants are likely to be cooperating with both the OCU and the UOC.
The crisis provoked by the emergence of the OCU can either become an opportunity for ecumenical dialogue, or, on the contrary, a source of further tension.

This essay reflects on the way modern Orthodox theology has addressed the question of the "death of God" and approached secular modernity, drawing upon three Orthodox lay thinkers: Russian religious philosopher Vladimir Soloviev, French Orthodox theologian Olivier Clément and Greek religious philosopher and theologian Christos Yannaras. All three claim that the modern rebellion against God is a legitimate response to the image of God formulated by Western medieval theology, strongly marked by political and juridical overtones. By engaging critically with these theologians, this paper argues that atheism can be used conceptually as a corrective to theologies that treat God as an ideological object or oppressive figure. In this sense, atheism can be useful in allowing us to speak more accurately about God. Finally, this article highlights the anti-Western aspect of Orthodox criticism towards certain doctrines of God and focuses on apophaticism and mysticism as ways of approaching God.

This article analyzes Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s substitution principle in the broader context of his approach to the relationship between the Church and poli- tics. The substitution principle, formulated in a letter to Apostolic Visitator Giovanni Genocchi, implies that the Church can perform the essentially political functions of leadership of a people, who in a colonial context lack substantive representation endowed with authority. The author addresses the question of the extent to which the substitution principle is theologically justified, and whether its application makes sense in a context where Ukrainians have their own independent state. The author claims that since the Ukrainian people already have their own cultural and political institutions today, the nation-building function of the Church should be fundamen- tally revised to prevent the instrumentalization of ecclesiastic structures and narra- tives by the national state.

The article deals with the Maidan revolution in Ukraine in 2013/14 and how it was connected to the European idea. It analyzes the performative, revolutionary and theopolitical character of the event and raises the question of what meaning the experience of the Maidan can have for the renewal of European identity. In linking the idea of Europe with the struggle for freedom and dignity, the Maidan event unfolds a communitarian and meaningful political force that connects the Ukrainian nation, the idea of Europe, and the desire for self-determi nation, for which people stake their lives. The essay takes a look at the forms and functions of political liturgy as well as the meaning of martyrdom and its ritualized remembrance. The revolutionary appropriation of political sovereignty by the people and the theopolitical dimensions of the event are reflected upon, both in their political power and significance for a European identity and in the associated dangers of mythologizing and idealizing Europe.