(Abridged Version)
THE USE OF RELIGION AS AN INSTRUMENT OF INFLUENCE AND A THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF LITHUANIA AND EUROPE IN THE CONTEXT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY AGGRESSION
PART 1.
THE INSTRUMENTALISATION OF RELIGION AS A CHALLENGE TO THE SECURITY OF LITHUANIA AND EUROPE
1.1. The instrumentalisation of religion and hybrid threats to democratic societies
For centuries, religion has served as one of humanity’s most powerful moral forces, shaping notions of good and evil, defending the dignity of life and calling for mercy. At the same time, because of its high authority and influence on the human conscience, religion has always become an attractive instrument for totalitarian political forces seeking power, wars of conquest and the subjugation of peoples.
When a religious institution enters into an alliance with a totalitarian or authoritarian government, a profound deformation of faith and its instrumentalisation take place:
Sacralisation of violence: The language of prayer and spiritual symbols are replaced by military ideology, a war of conquest is proclaimed “sacred”, and individuals are absolved of personal moral responsibility for war crimes.
Global experience of totalitarian pressure and extremism: In the 20th–21st centuries, this mechanism acquired particular force. On the one hand, radical fundamentalist Islamist groups systematically distort religious texts to justify terror, ethnic cleansing and mass murder. On the other hand, totalitarian and authoritarian regimes either deliberately destroy independent communities as “uncontrolled competitors” or completely monopolise religious life for strict surveillance of society.
Hybrid challenges for democratic Europe: In the modern world, the instrumentalisation of faith extends far beyond purely theological or internal church discussions. For European Union countries, the use of religious institutions by authoritarian regimes is an element of hybrid warfare and an instrument of “soft” power. Under the cover of “religious freedom”, charity and the protection of “traditional values”, covert channels of disinformation and propaganda, intelligence cells and structures of political influence are created, designed to undermine the resilience of democratic institutions.
1.2. The Russian Orthodox Church as an institutional component of the Kremlin’s war machine
In the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and hybrid pressure on Europe, the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), under the leadership of Moscow Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev), has become the principal ideological mouthpiece and institutionally organised conduit of the Kremlin’s totalitarian military doctrine. Its ideological foundation has become the quasi-religious and neo-imperial doctrine of the “Russian world”, which the ROC leadership and the World Russian People’s Council (WRPC) affiliated with it have shaped over decades as a replacement for communist ideology and a theological and ideological justification for aggressive war and the expansion of the Russian Federation into the former territories of the USSR and the Russian Empire.
In 2005–2007, under the auspices of the WRPC and with the personal participation and support of Kirill Gundyayev, then Metropolitan of Kaliningrad and now Patriarch of Moscow, the programme “Russian Doctrine” (“Русская доктрина”) was developed, substantiating the need to restore the Russian Federation as an empire, seize Ukraine and advance territorial claims against the Baltic states. Among the key objectives proclaimed by the doctrine was the use of ROC parishes and structures abroad to establish an extensive network of a “lay front” (“православного мирского фронта”), intended to mobilise ROC believers and clergy abroad and integrate them into the political and administrative processes of European countries in the interests of the Kremlin, with the aim of subsequently facilitating the occupation and annexation of the former territories of the USSR and the Russian Empire by the present-day Russian Federation.
Official proclamation of a “Holy War”: At the 25th World Russian People’s Council (March 2024), with the direct participation of Moscow Patriarch Kirill Gundyayev and members of the ROC Synod, a policy document was adopted officially declaring the military invasion of Ukraine a “Holy War”. The document openly denies the right of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples to their own statehood and proclaims the objective of the complete subjugation of Ukraine.
Theological justification of crimes and blessing of weapons: The ROC leadership is actively involved in military-ideological preparation: it officially preaches that death in the war against Ukraine “washes away all sins”, blesses weapons of mass destruction (including the nuclear arsenal) and has introduced the militaristic “Prayer for Holy Rus’”, which includes a petition for the victory of the Russian army, as mandatory reading in all ROC churches.
Direct participation in hostilities and paramilitary structures: More than 2,500 ROC priests are involved in the military support of Russian aggression in Ukraine. ROC parishes raise funds for drones, thermal imagers and electronic warfare equipment for the front, while Russian paramilitary formations are being established at churches.
Agent networks and intelligence activities: According to data released by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) in November 2025, more than 200 criminal proceedings have been opened against representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC MP), which maintains ecclesiastical-canonical and administrative ties with Moscow, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In total, this concerns 208 cases, involving 27 representatives of the senior clergy. According to the SSU, some of the exposed clerics carried out assignments for Russian intelligence services, using religious communities to recruit agents, justify Russian aggression and spread calls for the seizure of Ukraine. Individual clergymen took part in collecting coordinates and adjusting Russian strikes: in particular, in 2026 the SSU detained a cleric of the Odesa diocese of the UOC MP suspected of directing two Iskander-M missiles at Odesa, while courts had previously convicted clergymen of passing the coordinates of Ukrainian positions to the Russian side and adjusting enemy fire.
Destruction of sacred sites and repression of conscience: Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian shelling has destroyed or damaged more than 700 religious sites of various denominations in Ukraine. In the occupied territories, clergy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), Protestants and representatives of other denominations and religions are subjected to abductions, torture and murder. At the same time, within Russia itself, priests who oppose the war and call for peace face repression, defrocking or imprisonment.
Interfaith coalition: The Kremlin has also integrated other subordinate structures into its system of support for the war — from Russian Protestant unions (ROSKhVE) to Chechen Muslim figures who proclaim Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “jihad”.
1.3. European security and the ROC’s overseas network
An analysis of the Moscow Patriarchate’s activities abroad indicates that they have long since gone beyond purely religious ministry and developed into an extensive transnational network within the framework of hybrid warfare against Europe. In European Union countries, approximately 700 church-parish and cultural structures linked to the ROC operate (and taking into account Russian cultural centres, Sunday schools, charitable foundations and other institutions often operating alongside them, the total number of ROC-linked organisations in EU countries exceeds 1,000), with a combined annual budget of $60–95 million. These structures are systematically financed both through Russian state corporations and through the capital of sanctioned oligarchs, serving as a financial and logistical instrument for Kremlin influence in Europe.
Today, the ROC’s hybrid presence in European Union countries rests on two vectors of threat: political-ideological and military-intelligence.
1.3.1 Political-ideological vector and “soft power”
The Baltic states as a priority target of the Kremlin: In Moscow’s geopolitical strategy, the Baltic states — Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia — are still regarded as part of the “post-Soviet sphere of influence” and considered primary targets of Russian expansion. Through the ROC network, the Kremlin seeks to form controllable pro-Russian environments, restrain the region’s aspirations for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, and prepare the ground for potential aggression.
Pseudo-religious rhetoric against democracy: Speculating on slogans about the “protection of traditional values”, the ROC uses religious rhetoric as an instrument of Russian imperial propaganda. It fosters hostility towards democratic institutions, the EU and NATO, spreads Kremlin narratives and deliberately works to divide European society and discredit the foundations of freedom of conscience.
Arsenal of instruments of influence: To achieve political objectives, the ROC has deployed a comprehensive toolkit: foreign parishes, monasteries and missions; Russian cultural centres and charitable foundations operating alongside them; the establishment of control over Orthodox diasporas and displaced persons; “cultural diplomacy” and Sunday schools; the involvement of controlled media; and the development of alliances with far-right and ultraconservative political circles in Europe.
Interference in electoral processes: An example of direct political destabilisation was the electoral process in Moldova in 2025, where the church network and affiliated ROC clergy were actively used by the Kremlin as a direct instrument of electoral mobilisation, pro-Russian campaigning, supervision of shadow financial flows and discrediting the country’s course towards European integration. Similar techniques of political division and support for pro-Russian forces are employed in Eastern European countries and the Balkan region.
1.3.2 Military-intelligence and coercive vector
The geography of ROC facilities in Europe demonstrates a clear military-strategic pattern. According to OSINT studies, ROC parishes and complexes in at least 11 European countries are often deliberately built near sensitive NATO facilities, reserve airfields, radar stations, government districts and strategic transport hubs:
Sweden (Västerås): An ROC church was built for €2.5 million with funding from a foundation linked to Rosatom, just 300 metres from a NATO reserve airfield and 5 km from the Westinghouse nuclear plant. The Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) directly classified this facility as a platform for intelligence and hybrid operations, while the church rector held an official state award from the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Estonia (Narva and military training grounds): Estonian intelligence services documented direct material, military and operational activities by the ROC in favour of the aggressor. The abbess of a monastery in Narva raised funds for the Russian army and personally delivered material and technical assistance to the front. In addition, an ROC cleric who had previously worked in the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for cooperation with the armed forces of the Russian Federation was exposed while secretly photographing and filming one of Estonia’s military training grounds.
Czech Republic (Karlovy Vary): An ROC church in Karlovy Vary was used by operational officers of Russian military intelligence (GRU) as a clandestine venue for secret meetings, coordination of agents and transmission of operational instructions.
Finland: For a long time, a Russian Orthodox community operated in the immediate vicinity of critical Finnish naval infrastructure facilities. In 2022, following an assessment of security risks by the country’s government, the activities of this cell were officially terminated and the facility closed.
Norway (Vardø): An ROC attempt to begin construction of a chapel near the strategic NATO radar complex in Vardø was halted by the Norwegian government because of the threat of signals and visual intelligence gathering.
Bulgaria (Sofia): In Sofia, two representatives of the ROC clergy were officially expelled from the country for proven espionage activities on behalf of Russian intelligence services.
In Paris and Strasbourg (France), and in Rome (Italy), as well as in other major cities of EU member states, ROC church complexes have been built in the central parts of these cities on land purchased by Russian embassies, housing Russian religious and cultural centres, schools, foundations and other institutions, as well as diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation.
1.3.3 Assessment by intelligence services: findings of Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD)
These threats are critically relevant both to the security of the entire European continent and, in particular, to the Republic of Lithuania and the Baltic states. Thus, on 5 March 2026, Lithuania’s State Security Department (VSD) noted in its national security threat assessment report that, despite public statements by the leadership of the ROC’s Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania condemning the war and expressing a desire to gain autonomy, it remains an ordinary ROC diocese, strictly subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. This state of direct subordination to Moscow is regarded, under current conditions, as a threat to the country’s national security.
Lithuanian intelligence states: the diocese’s public requests for the status of “partial self-government” are merely tactical mimicry designed to deflect public criticism and conceal dependence on the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kremlin, while the head of the ROC, Moscow Patriarch Kirill Gundyayev, retains full administrative control over the ROC’s Diocese of Vilnius and Lithuania, allowing Moscow to continue using church structures in Lithuania as a channel for spreading the ideology of the “Russian world” and pro-Russian influence.
PART 2.
LIBERTAS FIDEI: MISSION AND OBJECTIVES
2.1. Background to the establishment of the Centre and the contemporary context
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 marked a turning point for the entire European security system, exposing the depth of hybrid threats faced by democratic states. One of the least protected yet most sensitive areas of hybrid pressure proved to be the spiritual sphere, where religious institutions were systematically transformed by the authoritarian regime of the Russian Federation into instruments of geopolitical influence and propaganda.
These transformations were particularly acute in the Baltic region. In Lithuania, the response to Russia’s war of conquest was the desire of anti-war Orthodox believers and clergy to distance themselves from the militaristic ideology of the Moscow Patriarchate and complicity in the criminal activities of the ROC leadership, which supports, encourages and blesses Russian military aggression in every possible way. The emergence of a canonical alternative — the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania — was an important step towards restoring spiritual justice.
At the same time, this process revealed a profound institutional disparity: newly established communities found themselves in unequal conditions and a difficult situation due to a lack of infrastructure and resources, while ROC structures retain substantial material leverage, funding and canonical subordination to the Kremlin.
Under these conditions, Lithuanian and European society as a whole faced a critical shortage of professional analysis, information hygiene and systematic knowledge of how exactly religious structures are used to spread the ideology of the “Russian world”, anti-democratic propaganda, collect intelligence and provide cover for the activities of Russian intelligence services.
The response to this challenge was the establishment in Vilnius of the International Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom, Libertas Fidei. The Centre was established as an independent international platform based in Vilnius, combining academic research, legal analysis, human rights advocacy and information activities.
2.2. Our mission and key areas of activity
The mission of the International Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom, Libertas Fidei, is to foster an understanding in European societies of the threats arising at the intersection of religion, politics and security. The Centre examines the use of faith as an instrument of propaganda, pressure and justification for war, while defending freedom of religion, human rights and democratic institutions.
The Centre’s main areas of activity:
Development of a European expert platform: Bringing together leading scholars, human rights defenders, analysts, journalists and theologians from different countries for systematic monitoring, documentation and coverage of emerging threats in the field of religion and freedom of conscience.
Analytical and information work: Providing expert, legal, informational and advisory support. Supplying society with professional, objective analysis, helping to separate spiritual life from the instrumentalisation of religion for political purposes.
Human rights activities: Supporting anti-war priests and religious figures in the Russian Federation and Belarus, regardless of their denominational and religious affiliation, who oppose Russia’s war against Ukraine and the instrumentalisation of religion, its use for political and military purposes.
Educational and international activities: Holding international conferences, round tables and public events; preparing and publishing studies, analytical materials and practical recommendations; and presenting the Centre’s findings to European institutions, the expert community and the public.
Our principled position: The Libertas Fidei Centre does not, as a matter of principle, engage in denominational conflict, oppose religion or denominations as such, or restrict freedom of conscience. On the contrary, we are deeply convinced that genuine faith is a sphere of personal freedom, morality and human dignity. Our activities are directed towards defending religious freedom, not against the church or believers, but against the instrumentalisation of faith — against its capture by totalitarian regimes, the replacement of spiritual values with imperial ideology, and the transformation of religious institutions into weapons of propaganda, aggression and division among European peoples.
2.3. Projects and initiatives implemented
Among the activities carried out by the Libertas Fidei Centre are the launch of the information and analytical portal https://libertasfidei.org , the holding, under the patronage of the Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, of the international academic conference “Constantinople and Moscow: Transformations of Ecclesiastical Affiliation and the Influences of Imperial Policy” (Vilnius, February 2026), the development and staging of the documentary photo exhibition “Religion and War” (February and June 2026), the organisation of discussion panels, lectures and round tables devoted to the problems of the instrumentalisation of religion and the use of faith in Russia’s war against Ukraine, and so on.
Leadership:
Vytautas Bruveris, media expert, journalist, political scientist, Chairman of the Board of the Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom “Libertas Fidei”, head of the Authoritarianism Research Centre, political commentator for Lietuvos Rytas, former director of the Elta news agency.
Dr. Sergijus Šumylo, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Doctor of Theology (ThDr.), Executive Director of the Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom “Libertas Fidei”, senior researcher at Vilnius University, honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, director of the International Institute of Athonite Heritage.
2.4. Our contacts
The International Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom, Libertas Fidei, is open to cooperation and partnership.
VšĮ Libertas fidei (Vilnius, Lithuania)
Our website: libertasfidei.org
Facebook pages:
https://www.facebook.com/libertasfidei
https://www.facebook.com/libertasfidei.en
YouTube channels:
https://www.youtube.com/@LibertasFideiEN
https://www.youtube.com/@LibertasFidei-ru
E-mail: contact@libertasfidei.org
The study was prepared by the Analytical and Information Department of the International Centre for the Study of Religious Freedom, Libertas Fidei
