Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

With the outbreak of a war between the former territories of Kievan Rus, today Russia and Ukraine, it seems important to analyze the role and actions of three of the most important non-political figures for the citizens of that area: Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Pope Francis. The reason is that historically religious leaders have played a key role in measuring armed conflicts, for example, during the war in Sudan where the Vatican intervention was key to the end of the war; or the papal intervention in the Beagle Conflict between Chile and Argentina. It is therefore pertinent to analyze how these three religious leaders have acted and the possible intervention they could make for the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the one hand, the Russian Patriarch supports Putin’s position; on the other hand, the Greek Catholic Patriarch manages the situation from the epicenter; finally, Pope Francis pulls diplomatic strings from Rome. In summary, this research uses qualitative methods, specifically historical and previous case studies, to provide some possible future scenarios that only the passage of time will prove to be true.