Approaching peace: When the West lets go of 'Satanism' and war of 'holiness'

Contacts between U.S. and Russian leaders are shattering theories about Russia’s battle against global evil. Photo: UOJ

The beginning of spring 2025 brings more and more signs pointing to hypothetic peace in Ukraine – a diplomatic peace, without one side’s military victory or the other’s surrender. This situation became possible due to a change in U.S. leadership, which signaled not just a new president in the White House but ushered in an ideological revolution across the United States and the broader Western world.

Immediately after Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, there was a dramatic shift away from the “gender-liberal” agenda toward traditional values and Christianity.

Major corporations such as Meta, Amazon, and Disney announced their withdrawal of support for gender ideology and LGBT causes.

Trump signed an executive order on gender policy, recognizing only two sexes: male and female. He also signed an order banning transgender individuals from competing in women’s sports; revoking diversity and equality policies in the U.S. Armed Forces; prohibiting gender transitions for children; and halting funding for multimillion-dollar gender and LGBT programs worldwide that had been supported by the previous Biden administration.

Both Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance actively participate in "March for Life" rallies against abortion.

The Trump administration has gone beyond simply supporting traditional values – it has publicly affirmed its commitment to the Christian faith.

At his inauguration, Trump mentioned God multiple times. His first Cabinet meeting began with prayer.

In February, Trump signed an executive order titled "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias", which created a task force to combat anti-Christian hatred.

At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump declared that his administration would defend Christians "in our schools, in our armed forces, in our government, in our workplaces, in our hospitals, and in our public squares," highlighting that "we will reunite our country as one nation under God."

On Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent for Catholics), the White House hosted a Catholic Mass for staff and all interested attendees. The new U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, appeared on television with an ash cross on his forehead as a public expression of faith.

White House press secretary Caroline Levitt demonstratively wore a visible cross over her clothing during press conferences. Donald and Melania Trump congratulated Christians on the beginning of Great Lent.

Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s public speeches could easily be mistaken for a sermon by a clergyman. Here, for example, is a fragment of his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC):

"I believe like the fundamental tenant of the Christian faith it's not just a set of good moral principles, though it is that I think the fundamental tenant of our faith is that the Son of God became man. He died and then He raised Himself from the dead. Of course, death is a very bad thing, but there are much more terrible things than just losing one's life; more importantly, we could lose our soul... I just try to remind myself that we put our faith in God above, we put our faith in the grace of God, and we try the best to do His will. We don't worry so much about whether we're going to have earthly rewards, we worry about whether we're doing right by God Almighty above. That's what I try to do and that's how I try to run my life in public."

One might say that all politicians are populists who only say what appeals to the public. But what prevents other politicians from saying the same? Nothing does. And yet, we do not recall any leader of any country publicly preaching Christ – not just in the Western world, but anywhere.

Now, let’s leave America for a moment and shift our focus to the other hemisphere.

How to "save the world" by killing hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians

In February 2025, the Russian Orthodox Church's (ROC) missionary television channel "Spas" aired an interview with the ROC's chief military chaplain, Dmitry Vasilenkov, in which he declared that the war in Ukraine "has a profound meaning."

"This war is sacred for all of us… We are fighting not just for the future of Russia; we are fighting for the future of the entire world here. To prevent global Satanism from taking hold. And from this perspective, this war is God’s war," Vasilenkov said.

In a sermon on the Feast of the Presentation (February 15, 2025), Patriarch Kirill of Moscow stated that Russia "maintains its mission as the 'Restrainer' (Κατέχων, Katéchon)."

"This word comes from the Apocalypse. If things remain this way, then our country will be the one holding back – the force preventing the collapse of mankind, the victory of evil on a global scale," said Patriarch Kirill.

By this time, however, Trump was already fully implementing his reforms.

Nevertheless, there was nothing new in the words of the ROC head. He had made similar statements before. For example, in March 2022, he called the war in Ukraine "metaphysical".

And in July 2023, he stated that, "if we speak in biblical terms, Russia is becoming the 'Restrainer' (see 2 Thessalonians 2:7) against the total dominance of evil – that is, against the coming of the Antichrist."

Two main arguments are used by the ROC to justify the war waged against Ukraine:

1. The Russian army is defending its homeland in Ukraine.
2. The Russian army is protecting the world from the triumph of global evil.

The former claim is difficult to comment on, since the Russian government has never previously questioned the legitimacy of the state borders of former Soviet republics. How Russia's homeland suddenly ended up in another country and how missile strikes on Kyiv or Lviv constitute "defense" remains extremely unclear.

Thus, let’s focus on the latter argument, VIZ. that Russia’s war in Ukraine is a battle against the rise of global evil.

The "Restrainer" Сoncept in Christian Theology

The concept of the "Restrainer" (Greek: ὁ κατέχων, ho Katéchon) originates from the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way."

There is no single agreed-upon interpretation in theological discourse regarding who or what the Apostle Paul was referring to. Some scholars have suggested that the Restrainer was the Roman Empire, others believe it refers to the grace of the Holy Spirit, which will be withdrawn from the world due to widespread hatred and loss of love. There are various other interpretations as well.

In Russian theological tradition, the Restrainer was often identified with the Orthodox Tsar. After the execution of Tsar Nicholas II, some began to associate the entire Russian nation with this role – a "God-bearing people" that would prevent the rise of the Antichrist.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a belief emerged among certain priests and elders in the ROC that Russia had a miraculous destiny – to avoid the reign of the Antichrist and save the rest of the world from his dominion.

It seems that the modern ideological doctrine of the ROC’s "holy war" originates from these very beliefs.

Of course, we won’t dwell on the obvious contradiction – that, from a Christian perspective, it is absurd to "save the world" by killing hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christians (the total casualties in Ukraine and Russia are estimated in this range). Let’s focus instead on logic.

Back when the world was led by "the most pro-LGBT president" Joe Biden, one might have theoretically entertained the idea that Russia was "saving the world" from a decadent, godless West. However, with the radical shift in U.S. policies – especially since America is the leader of the so-called "Satanic world" in this narrative – continuing to repeat Russia's mantra as the "Restrainer" now seems extremely bizarre.

Who is your neighbor?

We quote U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance:

"One of the most important parts of President Trump's policy and where I think President Trump's policy is most in accord with Christen Christian social teaching and with the Catholic faith is that more than any president of my lifetime, President Trump has pursued a path of peace. When President Trump talks about the need to bring peace, whether it's in Russia and Ukraine, whether it's in the Middle East, we, of course, have to recognize that as a policy oriented towards saving lives and carrying out one of Christ's most important Commandments."

During his first month in office, Trump has repeatedly stated that he seeks peace in Ukraine, that he wants no more deaths.

Yes, Trump is neither Orthodox nor Catholic. He is a Protestant from an unclear denomination. And let people call him vain; let them say he seeks peace only to be remembered as a great peacemaker. Does that really matter right now, if Trump is actually doing what Christ calls all of us to do? And if those whose very office obligates them to echo Christ’s message are failing to do so?

We all know Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, in which bandits robbed and beat a traveler, while a priest and a Levite passed by without helping him. It was a Samaritan – a foreigner to the Jews – who helped the wounded man.

"Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" Christ asks the lawyer. In essence, He asks the same question of us.

Of course, any analogy is imperfect. But don’t we see something similar happening today?

Isn’t today’s "priest" from the parable telling us that the beating of the traveler is actually God's will – necessary for the salvation of all of Judea?

Right now, hope for peace in Ukraine is stronger than ever. But how sad that the calls for peace come from "Samaritan" politicians – while the Russian Church slumbers in a dreamlike state, lost in its own invented world, where Russian soldiers in tanks and missiles are supposedly destroying a gathering of Satanists from across the universe.

On a human level, one might understand why hierarchs support the state in hopes of reciprocal cooperation. But the problem is that no one in the Russian government officially endorses the ideas of a "Restrainer" or a "battle against global evil". This is an invention of the ROC itself.

Even Putin himself, in an interview with Tucker Carlson a year and a half ago, stated that he sees nothing supernatural or sacred in the confrontation with the West:

"No, frankly speaking, I don't think so. I think that the world community develops according to its internal laws, and they are what they are. This has always been the case in the history of mankind – some nations and countries rose, multiplied, strengthened, then they fell off the international arena," the Russian president said at the time.

And now, at the very first invitation from Trump for negotiations, Putin immediately agrees.

Does this look like the position of a "Restrainer," a leader of a "God-bearing nation" fighting against global evil?

Not at all. It looks like pragmatic diplomacy between two world leaders, pursuing political and economic benefits.

And so, the theory of Russia as the "Restrainer" is crumbling before our eyes. No wonder its most fervent propagandists are now in a state of despair and confusion.

For example, Boris Korchevnikov, chief editor of the ROC’s "Spas" TV channel, publicly condemned the U.S.-Russia negotiations, calling them a "deal" that he finds "disgusting."

Here is an excerpt from his statement:

"For them, this is just a 'deal,' but for me, it is the blood of my family and my country. The blood we have poured onto this land in abundance over a thousand years of Russian history – and over the last three years of war... And what if, after all the endless memes mocking Zelensky in the Oval Office, we suddenly wake up to find that the 'deal' has been made – that the land, the people, the values, the factories of our fathers, the crosses and icons, the people and children for whom we fought, wept, and died – have fallen into cold foreign hands?"

His post was widely shared by various ROC-affiliated resources, including the military department of the Moscow Patriarchate. In other words, this is not just his personal opinion – it reflects a broader sentiment within the Church.

It turns out that the people who spent so much time glorifying war and death in the name of "victory" now feel betrayed – because they themselves believed their own propaganda.

Yet inside Russia itself, few people actively support the official rhetoric of a "holy war". In fact, interest in Christianity beyond church walls is steadily declining.

This is reflected in:
- extremely low church attendance;
- the gradual removal of Christian symbols at the federal level;
- a growing reluctance to associate the state with the Church.

The problem has become so significant that even Patriarch Kirill himself was compelled to acknowledge it:

"Crosses on church images and even in state symbols are being quietly erased. But what should be erased is not the cross – it is one’s own rootlessness and historical amnesia."

His frustration is understandable. Over the past three years, the ROC has sacrificed much for the sake of state interests, destroying its global reputation – yet it has received no reciprocal gestures from Russian society.

But to be fair, the ROC’s ideological support for the war was entirely voluntary. The state never promised it a "marriage".

Whatever the case, we see little enthusiasm among church leaders regarding the possible end of the war – which means the end of death and suffering:

- Patriarch Bartholomew has already spoken out against peace negotiations.
- Ukrainian Greek Catholic leader Sviatoslav Shevchuk has criticized them.
- Patriarch Kirill remains silent.

However, his silence carries a negative connotation, which is understandable in some ways.

After all, peace is not just the cessation of hostilities. It is also a time of reckoning, of reflection on what was said – and left unsaid. It is a time of questions from mothers whose sons were encouraged by priests to go to war and die. It is a time of questions from UOC priests whose sons were forcibly mobilized and killed at the front. And many, many others.

Someone will have to answer them all.

On top of that, there is no escape from The Meeting – where the ultimate answer must be given.

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