23 octobre 2025, 6pm: VDTR Research in the Spotlight: Book presentation and public lecture

Two and a half years ago, the symposium 'War in Ukraine: Theological, Ethical and Historical Reflections' was held at the University of Vienna. The corresponding volume, published open access in March 2025, contains valuable insights from early-career Ukrainian researchers on various topics focusing on churches, religious institutions, beliefs, and practices. We invite you to a book presentation with a lecture by one of the authors. Julia Korniichuk holds a PhD in Religious Studies from the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University in Kyiv and is currently conducting research at the New Europe College in Bucharest.

Highlights:

• Words of Welcome by the editors
• Book Presentation
• Lecture by Julia Korniichuk, PhD: "Friends or Foes? Religious Organisations and European Institutions in the Face of Russia’s War on Ukraine" 
  What happens when a church becomes an actor in war — and still claims a seat at Europe’s dialogue table? The Russo-Ukrainian war has not only reshaped politics and security in Europe, but also the role of religion in international affairs. For decades, European institutions have cultivated structured dialogue with religious actors with mixed success, recognising them as part of civil society. Yet Russia’s aggression, openly endorsed and theologically justified by the Moscow Patriarchate, has placed this framework under unprecedented strain. EU institutions condemned the aggression immediately and clearly. By contrast, some autocephalous Orthodox churches struggled to find words to denounce it or, like Moscow, supported it.
  This talk explores this confrontation and institutional responses to religious involvement in the war — from addressing legitimising and fuelling religious rhetoric and narratives to the previously unprecedented extension of sanctions to church-affiliated actors and structures. How might this institutional and ecclesiastical tension shape future EU engagement with churches, particularly in the context of potential enlargement, where two-thirds of current candidate countries are Orthodox-majority nations?
• Moderated Discussion

After the event, we invite you to a get-together.

Location: Dekanatssitzungssaal der Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät (staircase 8, second floor), Universitätsring 1, 1010 Wien.