In a scathing rebuke, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “heresy” for framing the invasion of Ukraine as a “holy mission.” Rowan Williams, who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 2002 to 2012, condemned the use of religion to justify the invasion as “disturbing” and said that Putin’s “revanchi m directly contradicts the message preached by Jesus Christ.”
Speaking to The Update Desk, Williams said, “I’d certainly say we’re talking about heresy. We’re talking about something which undermines a really fundamental aspect of religious belief, of Christian belief, which assumes that we have to defend God by violence.” He pointed to Christ’s teachings that his “kingdom is not of this world” and that his “servants would not fight.”
Putin has repeatedly invoked religious rhetoric to frame the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In a recent Christmas address, the Russian leader referred to his soldiers as “warriors” acting “as if at the Lord’s behest” and “defending the fatherland.” This echoes the “Russian World” ideology, which grants Russia a divine right to build a “Holy Rus” – a land chosen by God for the Russian people.
However, Williams argued that “the idea that death in battle for your country equates to Christian martyrdom seems to be the most bizarre and unjustifiable interpretation you could take.” He described this as a “systematic, comprehensive rebranding of Christianity as Russian national ideology.”
The former Archbishop’s condemnation comes as the Russian Orthodox Church has emerged as a powerful ally of Putin, blessing the invasion and supporting his campaign to uphold “traditional values” in Russian society. In 2024, the Ukrainian parliament even outlawed the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church due to its strong support for the invasion.
Williams warned that the West is in “denial about the extent to which religion is being weaponised to drive human conflict” and called on religious leaders to step up their condemnation of violence. He stated, “To imagine that faith can only be defended by violence is a bit of an insult to faith really.”
Orthodox priests have also criticised Putin, with one describing him as more akin to the “Antichrist” than a messiah, and holding “demonic” beliefs antithetical to the faith. As the war in Ukraine rages on, the battle for the soul of Christianity appears to be intensifying.