2024 Volume 41 Pages 1-17
This paper delves into the concept of theopolitics, which was originally coined to depict ecclesiastical geopolitics within the Eastern Orthodox Church. Through an exploration of its historical roots and theoretical foundations, the study reevaluates the Russo-Ukraine conflict from a diachronic perspective, focusing on the inter national balance of power within the Orthodox Church. This paper scrutinizes the antecedents of the conflict in the following manner. First, the local church system of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Canon Law are summarized. Second, the dialogic efforts among the local churches to convene a Pan-Orthodox Council during the 20th century are examined.
In the context of evolving global relations, the dynamics of power politics among autocephalous churches, defined as theopolitics, are undergoing a serious reassessment. The 2018 excommunication by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, acknowledged as the highest authority (primus inter pares) in the Eastern Or thodox world, and the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, boasting the largest Orthodox population, underscored the theological tensions surrounding the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. This paper attempts to examine the maintenance of diversity and pursuit of a unified faith in the Orthodox Church during times of crises.
