Divine Diplo Update #1: Rome to Istanbul via Vilnius
Stalin Icon, Bartholomew's Baltic Move, Kosovo's Holy See Mission, Pope Worries for Ukraine
Hi everyone, and welcome to my first Substack. Church politics is usually fast-paced, but developments are incredibly dynamic around this time of the year. There are lots of statements from church leaders followed up by politicians and various interest groups. Here’s a selection of four stories that take you around the Baltics, Ukraine, Georgia, Istanbul, Rome, and Kosovo.
An icon depicting Stalin causes uproar in Georgia
Ecumenical Patriarchate expanding its presence in the Baltics – setting up new church structure in Lithuania
Kosovo opens a Special Mission to the Holy See
Pope worried about Ukraine’s war being forgotten
An icon depicting Stalin causes uproar in Georgia
There’s been an uproar in Georgia after an icon depicting Joseph Stalin had been discovered at Tblisi’s main Orthodox cathedral – The Holy Trinity. Stalin appears on an icon of St Matrona of Moscow. The icon has been exhibited in the church for several months. It had received significant media attention and was followed by incidents and controversy. The video of the icon was shared by Giorgi Kandelaki, a former MP and researcher working at a local think-tank at Tbilisi’s Soviet Past Research Laboratory.
The incident received another dimension when a group of protesters threw and covered the icon with blue paint. This has led to further polarisation of the situation, leading to the opening of a police investigation and tightened police presence in the parameters of the church. The icon has been cleaned and is still displayed. Politico reported that this had incited a group of far-right protesters wanting to break into a person’s house who had allegedly defaced the icon.
The icon was initially gifted to the Holy Trinity cathedral by the “Alliance of Patriots”, a nationalistic party with close ties to Moscow.
The Georgian Orthodox Church reacted with a statement in which it clarified that the painting depicting Stalin is not an icon and that it does not mean that his presence there is there to be worshipped or admired and stating that there are many such precedents in church history of controversial figures being presented in iconography. In the statement, the church confirms that, in fact, Stalin is on the painting, which was previously discarded by some – questioning that it is him painted on the icon.
The legend, which is depicted on the icon, is that the Matrona, who was a healer, had a vision and blessed Stalin. She had told him that the only way to save Russia from the advancement of Hitler was by restoring the Russian Orthodox Church to its glory. The Georgian church had asked for changes to be made as such a meeting between Stalin and Matrona could not be confirmed.
Georgia became an official candidate for EU membership in December 2023.
Ecumenical Patriarchate expanding its presence in the Baltics – setting up new church structure in Lithuania
Following the Russian aggression of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic states have increased the urgency to detach themselves even more from the grip of the Moscow Patriarchate. The tight political and defence cooperation is now mirroring in the Orthodox sphere across this region.
The announcement for the expansion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate into Lithuania last March has been taking shape in the previous couple of months. Last week, we learned that Justinus Kiviloo will head the new Lithuanian Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Originally from Estonia (with Ukrainian roots), he said in an interview that he is finalising the requirements for registering a new religious community in the country. He celebrated his first service as the Head of the new church at the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius.
Property rights of the Orthodox church are a sensitive topic in Eastern Europe. Kiviloo is clear that despite the appetite by some for using the sites operated by the Russian Orthodox Church diocese in Lithuania, this is not the way to go, stating that he is “categorically against it.” At the same time he understands the difficulties regarding the question of premises for the new church. He says the up until now the faithful have been gathering and praying at various sites of different denominations. The hopes are that the situation will be resolved soon with donations and building its own place of worship.
The new church structure under the Ecumenical Patriarchate will consist of former priests of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lithuania who were expelled by the Head of the church there (Met. Innokentiy). Their offences amounted to politics, i.e. their stance on the Russian aggression in Ukraine and not to any church or dogmatic reasoning, according to the Ecumenical Patriarch who had reinstated them.
Kosovo opens a Special Mission to the Holy See
It’s been a busy start of the year for Kosovo’s President Osmani and politics in general. The United States had approved Kosovo’s request to purchase Javelin anti-thank launchers for the Kosovo Security Force, pending US—Congress approval. From the start of the new year, Kosovar citizens can travel freely to the EU’s Schengen area, including Spain, which has long opposed Kosovo’s independence. A visa-free agreement was concluded with the UAE.
Last Friday (12 January), we learned about the opening of the new Special Mission of Kosovo to the Holy See. According to Kosovo’s President, this has been in the works with the Vatican leadership for the last two years. Strengthening Kosovo-Vatican relations has great political symbolism as the Vatican still has not recognised Kosovo’s independence.
The opening of the Special Mission comes a year after Osmani asked Pope Francis for recognition of Kosovo and thanked him for his continued pastoral care. Osmani told the pontiff that the recognition by the Vatican would contribute to Kosovo’s statehood and further its Euro-Atlantic integrations.
The relationship with the Vatican is a tricky question for Belgrade, which attempts to balance the unwillingness of the Serbian Orthodox Church to agree to a Papal visit to Serbia and nurture good relations with the Vatican, which has maintained the position of non-recognition of Kosovo.
Serbia’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Sima Avramović, has downplayed Kosovo’s opening of a Special Mission to the Vatican, explaining that it essentially represents a form of a “Liaison Office” and that Serbian diplomats to the Holy See were aware of it for some time.
The news from Pristina received a reaction in Belgrade. Serbia’s Foreign Minister Dačić criticised the Serbian Orthodox Church for not doing enough to oppose the warming up of the relations between the Vatican and Kosovo. “It is in our interest the Pope to be on our side”, Dačić has said. Serbia’s President Vučić officially visited the Holy See in 2019.
Pope worried about Ukraine’s war being forgotten
In a letter sent to the Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Pope Francis echoes what has been the fear of many in recent months that the international attention to the war in Ukraine waged by Russia is slipping away. He warns that “against the backdrop of dramatic international events, there is a risk that the war in Ukraine may become a ‘forgotten’ war.” The Pope had strongly condemned the Russian missile attacks against civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine, which took place at the end of the year.
In the annual “State of the World” address to the Vatican’s diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See earlier in the month, he underscored the consequences of indiscriminate warfare and its disastrous effect on civilians. He addressed the ongoing warfighting in Ukraine by saying that “the greatly desired peace has not yet managed to take root in minds and hearts after nearly two years of large-scale war waged by Russia against Ukraine despite the great numbers of victims and the massive destruction.”
The Pope is using the word “metastasise” to describe the continuous warfighting in Ukraine, pointing rather vaguely that negotiations with respect to international law are the only way forward for stopping the war.
The Pope criticised the indiscriminate warfare, which has no differentiation between civilians and military targets. There is no conflict that “does not end up in some way indiscriminately striking the civilian population.” He says the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza is proof of this.
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Andreja Bogdanovski