Original Research
Orthodox justification of collective violence: An epistemological and systematic framework
Submitted: 05 February 2023 | Published: 15 January 2024
About the author(s)
Marian G. Simion, Department of Ministry Studies, Divinity School, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States; and Department of Systematic and Historical Theology, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Graz, Graz, AustriaAbstract
Using a religious studies methodology, this paper offers a detailed contextual mapping and a structural configuration of how collective violence is justified in Orthodox Christianity. The research design is explanatory, whereby the functional perspectives of doctrine, ethics and worship are all investigated and probed as phenomena of lived religion and orthopraxy. While predominantly initiatory and pedagogical, the paper also proposes a systematic platform for advanced research on this subject, by flagging contexts, themes and areas of inquiry that a researcher might examine in order to untangle the inner workings of the justification of violence in the mind of the Orthodox. Given the ongoing Russian War on Ukraine, relevant samples are drawn from this case.
Contribution: This paper outlines the Orthodox Christian justification of violence from the perspectives of doctrine, ethics and ritual and identifies pivotal areas of ambiguity between orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
Keywords
Sustainable Development Goal
Metrics
Total abstract views: 1676Total article views: 1359