The Russian Orthodox Church is currently musing with the idea of canonizing the Russian general of the 18th century Alexander Suvorov. On the internet one can already find various icons of him made by ordinary Russians. Most likely this proposal will be accepted by the Russian Orthodox Church and supported by the populace.
As I have been repeatedly saying in my writings, Russia is at the historical stage that can be compared to the Age of Crusades in medieval Europe or the first centuries of Islam in the Middle East, when the idea of Jihad emerged and took central stage. Both of those historical eras were characterized by wild ferocity and militant mindset intertwined with religion.
A similar phenomenon is being observed in Putin's Russia. Militant mindset is deeply intertwined with the role of religion in Russian society, particularly the Orthodox Church’s justification of militarism. Many in the West, and even in Ukraine, are shocked by how the Russian Orthodox Church not only endorses the war but also goes so far as to bless soldiers and consecrate nuclear weapons. A striking example is the recently built Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, which is dedicated to the military - a concept utterly alien and appalling to Western and Orthodox Christians alike.
Equally perplexing is the veneration of Stalin among devout Russian Orthodox believers. During his reign Stalin brutally persecuted the Russian Orthodox Church, whereby many priests were tortured and killed, only to reestablish it in 1943 as a state-run intelligence and propaganda agency to fuel the war effort. Despite this he is now honored, with some even creating icons of him - one of the greatest persecutors of religion, and Orthodox Christianity in particular. Alongside him, Marshall Zhukov - Stalin's butcher during WWII - is also venerated in the Church. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if later along the way Stalin and Zhukov will also be officially canonized.
However, when we step back from a linear view of history and adopt a cyclical perspective, these seeming contradictions begin to make sense. In this phase of its cultural lifecycle, Russia’s approach to religion mirrors that of other nascent cultures during similar stages of their development. Just as the Catholic Church once incited believers to join the Crusades and Islam called its followers to Jihad, the Russian Orthodox Church now plays a similar role in rallying support for Russia’s own "holy war", which is directed against the West.
The veneration of Stalin, too, aligns with this pattern and instead of being contradictory, in fact, makes perfect sense. He is seen not simply as a political leader, but rather as a symbolic figure - a personification of the Russian soul who, brutally and relentlessly fought against the hated West - the eternal target of Russians' ire and crusading spirit.
Likewise, the canonization of Suvorov, although also shocking to many, represents another logical step within this trajectory. Militant church is nothing new. It has been a recurring pattern in history. Just like at the time crusaders hated the Muslim and Greek-Orthodox East, and Muslims hated (and continue to hate) the Christian West, Russians today hate the West with the same ferocity, with religion serving as the galvanizer.
This evolution of Russian Christianity will eventually trigger a schism within the broader Eastern Orthodox Christianity, comparable in its historical significance and intensity only to the Great Schism of 1054. And the catalyst to this will likely be the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in 2019 by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. While Russia may accuse Ukraine of schism, it is, in fact, Russia that will be eventually separating itself from the broader Eastern Orthodox Christianity. As Ukraine moves closer to Europe, reaffirming its connection to the Greek Orthodox tradition, Russia may be on the path to developing a distinct form of Christianity, one that is uniquely Russian and resonates more deeply with its cultural essence.
