What happens to a Church when it blesses a war?
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On Tuesday, September 15, at 11:30 a.m., I will present my book Religious Communities Under Pressure: Documenting Religious Persecution in Russia, 2022–2026 at the George Washington University.
The conversation will be moderated by Peter Rollberg, Professor of Slavic Languages, Film Studies, and International Affairs at GWU.
The book follows what has happened inside Russia since February 2022 — not only to Orthodox priests silenced for refusing to bless the invasion, but to Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jehovah's Witnesses caught in a widening machinery of pressure. It draws on four years of official documents, court rulings, synodal decisions, and testimonies rarely read together in one place.
George Weigel included the book in his Summer Reading List 2026 in First Things, and discussed the state of the Russian Church in his Wall Street Journal column "Putin's War and Kirill's Blasphemy." With endorsements from Rowan Williams, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Archbishop Elpidophoros, and John Chryssavgis.
🕦 Monday, September 15, 11:30 a.m.
📍 Linder Family Commons, Room 602
Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU
1957 E St NW, Washington, DC 20052
Register now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1nMPptqiXP2RES0vfxFQSulqDA8OoD9F6qRD5gFm7uQQtZg/viewform
More about the book: chapnin.org/books/religious-communities-under-pressure
I hope to see many of you there.
The conversation will be moderated by Peter Rollberg, Professor of Slavic Languages, Film Studies, and International Affairs at GWU.
The book follows what has happened inside Russia since February 2022 — not only to Orthodox priests silenced for refusing to bless the invasion, but to Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists, and Jehovah's Witnesses caught in a widening machinery of pressure. It draws on four years of official documents, court rulings, synodal decisions, and testimonies rarely read together in one place.
George Weigel included the book in his Summer Reading List 2026 in First Things, and discussed the state of the Russian Church in his Wall Street Journal column "Putin's War and Kirill's Blasphemy." With endorsements from Rowan Williams, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Archbishop Elpidophoros, and John Chryssavgis.
🕦 Monday, September 15, 11:30 a.m.
📍 Linder Family Commons, Room 602
Elliott School of International Affairs, GWU
1957 E St NW, Washington, DC 20052
Register now: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1nMPptqiXP2RES0vfxFQSulqDA8OoD9F6qRD5gFm7uQQtZg/viewform
More about the book: chapnin.org/books/religious-communities-under-pressure
I hope to see many of you there.
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Where is it happening?
1957 E St NW, Washington, DC 20052-0041, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Host or PublisherSergei Chapnin
