Vatican's stance on the russo-ukrainian war: historical background and contemporary situation

Надтока, Геннадій Михайлович and Горпинченко, Інна Володимирівна (2025) Vatican's stance on the russo-ukrainian war: historical background and contemporary situation Український історичний журнал / Національна академія наук України, Інститут історії України НАН України, Інститут політичних і етнонаціональних досліджень ім. І.Ф. Кураса НАН України (4). pp. 5-21. ISSN 0130-5247

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Abstract

Th e purpose is to clarify the essence and historically conditioned continuity of Vatican policy regarding the Russo-Ukrainian war, based on a comprehensive analysis of sources and literature. Methodological framework. Th e authors apply the concept of methodological synthesis, which entails the logical integration of the instrumental achievements of well-known scientifi c schools. In particular, the study employs civilizational, anthropological, and mental approaches, as well as general scientifi c and historical methods. Th e scientifi c novelty lies in the initial holistic representation of the Vatican’s position on the Russo-Ukrainian war. Additionally, a historical exploration of the Roman Popes’ political responses to wars during the era of modernization has contributed to the reconstruction of their stance on confl ict. Conclusions. In the context of historical, historiographical, and political science methodologies, the article presents the evolution of the Vatican’s means of infl uencing wars in general, and the Russo-Ukrainian war (from 2014) in particular. It is clarifi ed that the Vatican’s foreign policy concept in the context of war has undergone signifi cant transformation throughout the modern era — from the mid-19th century to the present day. Th e levels of the Vatican’s involvement in the prevention or resolution of military confl icts included, at various stages, policies of condemning wars, expressing verbal sympathy (empathy) for the victims of war, and later, active direct participation in confl icts through humanitarian eff orts, as well as diplomatic pressure and mediation in peace negotiations. At the same time, the Vatican avoided identifying the nature of the war and refrained from directly recognizing or condemning the aggressor state, thereby maintaining diplomatic space for exerting actual infl uence on the instigator of the war. A key part of the presented material is the characterization of the Vatican’s relationships with the Russian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In particular, the interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state apparatus is analyzed in the context of their combined eff orts to implement a hybrid method of aggression against Ukraine. Describing the policy of Pope Francis regarding the war, the article notes the signifi cant arsenal of means he has employed to infl uence the war, while adhering to the Vatican’s modern historical tradition of recognizing national liberation wars as just. Among the historical lessons of Vatican policy on war, the unacceptability of any attempts to avoid identifying the aggressor and the refusal to clarify the geopolitical causes of the war are highlighted.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Russia’s war against Ukraine; Vatican; Roman Catholic Church; Moscow Patriarchate; Orthodox Church of Ukraine; diplomacy; humanitarian actions
Subjects:	Статті у базах даних > Web of Science
Divisions:	Факультет суспільно-гуманітарних наук > Кафедра всесвітньої історії
Depositing User:	Інна Володимирівна Горпинченко
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2026 17:45
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2026 17:45
URI:	https://elibrary.kubg.edu.ua/id/eprint/55897

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