Diplomacy, Geopolitics, and Global Orthodox Christianity: Launching a New Policy Brief

The historical significance and current presence of Orthodox Churches in locations of key competition between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Russia, and in the great power rivalries of the twenty-first century, raises important questions about the role and impact of Orthodox Churches in contemporary geopolitics. Kremlin-supported challenges by the Moscow Patriarchate to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the global leader of a unified Orthodox Church that endorses universal human rights and rule of law, have provoked intense ecclesiastical conflicts within Orthodoxy over institutional, normative, and material resources. Additionally, the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s decision establishing the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) positions Ukraine as an important Rorschach test for the Constantinople-versus-Moscow orientations of Orthodox Churches worldwide.

This event will feature Elizabeth Prodromou, the author of a new policy brief commissioned by the Transatlantic Policy Network on Religion & Diplomacy (TPNRD). Berkley Center Senior Research Fellow and TPNRD Project Director Judd Birdsall will moderate the discussion.

Accessibility: Please email berkleycenter@georgetown.edu by November 27 with any accessibility requests. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill all requests made after this date.