Dr Brandon Gallaher: The 'Russian World' Teaching and the Invasion of Ukraine

On 27 April 2022, the Centre for Religion and Public Life at the University of Leeds hosted a seminar with Dr Brandon Gallaher, about "Orthodox Theology, Russian Nationalism, and the Invasion of Ukraine".

Dr Brandon Gallaher is Senior Lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology at the University of Exeter. A specialist of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and an Orthodox theologian himself, he was one of the main drafters of the statement titled "Orthodox Theology, Russian Nationalism and the Invasion of Ukraine: The Declaration on the 'Russian World' Teaching". This statement publicly condemned the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy's support for the invasion of Ukraine and the ‘Russian World’ doctrine that lies behind it. The statement has received extensive media attention, has been translated into numerous languages and has hundreds of high-profile signatories.

In this seminar, Professor Rachel Muers interviewed Dr Gallaher about the ‘Russian World’ doctrine, the motivation and inspiration for this public statement, and the wider implications for Orthodoxy. Please watch this conversation about a timely and important issue regarding religion and public life in the current global political context! (With apologies for the first few minutes of the conversation not being included in this recording.)