Orthodox Church Rising

The independent publication Verstka reported that senior clergy participated in more than 265 public-state events in 2023 — about a 20 percent increase versus 2020, 2021, and 2022, when the number of such meetings hovered around 200 to 220, even counting online formats during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From January to November 2024, there were at least 200 public church-state events, according to Verstka’s analysis of 11,000 news items from the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

At the same time, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church met with regional governors nearly twice as often as in 2023. Topics discussed at these meetings included not only church construction and restoration but also calls to ban abortions — an initiative the Church has pushed at multiple levels of government.

Clergy delivered lectures not only to schoolchildren and students, but also to patients and physicians in women’s clinics, warning of what they claim are the spiritual and societal dangers of abortion.

Verstka calls the current partial ban on abortions a major success for the Russian Orthodox Church. At least four regions and annexed Crimea have banned abortions in private clinics, and 14 regions of Russia now impose fines for what officials term “incitement to abortions.”

However, the Church’s lobbying successes in 2023 and 2024 did not stop there. In 2024, a law banning so-called “child-free propaganda” was adopted. Federation Council head Valentina Matviyenko called it a critical measure to protect “traditional values.” Matviyenko, who Verstka interviewed, also noted that the ban on "child-free propaganda" was a compromise. According to her, the Russian Orthodox Church would like a complete ban on abortions, but the state is not yet ready for this.

Another law that the church successfully lobbied for is a law prohibiting the admission of migrant children to schools. Migrants, who are allegedly “squeezing” Orthodox Russians out of the country, are a main topic raised by Orthodox media, and a key issue for the patriarch.

Verstka noted that the Church’s influence has grown not only in the legislative realm but also in patriotic propaganda. “In the second year of the war, the Church was given noticeably more involvement in the lives of the military and their loved ones,” an expert told Verstka, referring to Russia's War on Ukraine. Clergy increasingly took part in official meetings with soldiers’ mothers and wives, preaching about the “atonement of sin” on the battlefield.

However, the publication’s sources said the results of such propaganda are mixed. While the Church’s standing has risen in the military and among pro-war bloggers, some Russians who are removed from the Russian War in Ukraine have been alienated by the Church’s pro-war messaging. Overall, the percentage of people identifying as Orthodox has declined in Russia — from 75 percent in 2017 to 66 percent in 2024, according to VTSIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center). For this reason, the expert told Verstka, the Church’s role in supporting the war was not overly forced in 2024.

Despite the uncertain impact of war-related propaganda, the Russian Orthodox Church received more government grants. Verstka calculated that at least R311 million ($3 million) were allocated for Church projects in 2024, a 16% increase versus 2023. These funds help to cover some of the costs for shelters, hospitals, soup kitchens, Orthodox camps, and lectures by priests on “traditional values.”

Lectures for children and teenagers have also become a key vehicle for promoting the Church’s views. According to Verstka, in 2024, clergy told students that swearing shortens one's life and affects their genes, and that internet addiction is caused by spiritual harm and unchecked passions. They also promoted patriotic themes, saying that “in the difficult war years, the spirit of heroism manifests itself” among Russians and encourages every student to emulate the historic figure Alexander Nevsky.