Russia’s war on Ukraine, openly supported by the Russian Orthodox Church, has led the Ukrainian government to restrict Moscow’s religious influence, including a new law that could potentially ban Russian-affiliated religious communities. Although presented as a matter of national security, the proposal has raised concerns about religious freedom among international organizations and church leaders.

For the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, this creates a difficult balance between supporting efforts to protect Ukrainian identity and remaining cautious about state involvement in religious life.

This lecture will examine the tension between national security and religious freedom, the role of religion in times of conflict, and the lessons Ukraine might draw from Western responses to religion and security after 9/11. It is co-hosted by the Dominican Institute of Toronto.

Date: March 17, 2026
Time: 7:00-9:00pm
Location: St. Mark’s College at UBC

About the speaker

Dr. Pavlo Smytsnyuk specializes in political theology, religious nationalism, and Eastern Christianity. He is currently a visiting scholar at New York University’s Jordan Center. Before moving to New York, he held research and teaching positions at George Washington University in D.C., Princeton University, and Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. He studied philosophy and theology in Rome, Athens, and St. Petersburg, and holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford. Smytsnyuk is co-editor of Marian Reflections on War and Peace: Trauma, Mourning, and Justice in Ukraine and Beyond (Routledge, 2025).