Pets won’t make it to heaven. Vitamins are “nonsense.” HIMARS strikes are God’s punishment for abortions. Such statements have long become familiar coming from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. But this is not really a story about eccentric clergy.

In her column for ZN.UA, Join Ukraine Founder and Director Liubov Tsybulska examines how the ROC has become part of Russia’s system of governance, extending its influence far beyond church walls into war, education, demography, family life, and “traditional values.”

Drawing on monitoring of regional communities, she explores why sarcasm, distrust, and irritation toward the church are becoming increasingly visible in Russian social media — and why an institution that once claimed spiritual authority is increasingly perceived as just another bureaucrat’s office, only with a censer.

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