Sergei Chapnin
A journalist and scholar of the Russian Orthodox Church, its entanglement with state power, and the believers persecuted for refusing to endorse the war.
Director of Communications, Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Fordham University
Current work
I write and speak about the Russian Orthodox Church, its entanglement with state power, and the religious communities persecuted for refusing to support Russia’s war against Ukraine.
My work brings together research, public commentary, editorial projects, and contemporary Christian culture. At the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University, I lead communications and editorial work, including Public Orthodoxy.
One concern holds it all together: how Christian witness survives violence and repression when the Church itself has made peace with them.
Religious Communities Under Pressure
Documenting Religious Persecution in Russia 2022–2026
Second edition, Revised and Updated — Published September 5, 2026 Foreword by Rowan Williams. An examination of the persecution of religious communities in Russia during and after the full-scale war against Ukraine, grounded in documentary evidence, interviews, and theological analysis.
“Courageous, comprehensively documented, written out of indignant loyalty to a Church whose public spokespersons seem set on destroying its own credibility, it is a necessary and timely book that should be studied by all who want to understand the draining, disgraceful conflict that continues to overshadow Eastern Europe.” — Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, from the Foreword
Cited by George Weigel in The Wall Street Journal, and named to his First Things Summer Reading List.
Updated October 2026 Religious persecution in Russia: key figures →
This documentation is ongoing and volunteer-run. Support the work →
Religious Repression and the Myth of "Traditional Values" in Putin's Russia
The Kremlin's rhetoric of "traditional values" is not window-dressing on a repressive state; it is the state's operating system, and the Russian Orthodox Church is its co-author. Under the pressure of war the doctrine has absorbed an unstated value — sacralized violence — from which the persecution of antiwar clergy follows directly.
Upcoming Talks
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Sobornost — my Substack. New essays and updates on the Russian Orthodox Church, religious persecution, and the politics of faith. Free, and never often.
Photographs
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Selected Writings
Essays, interviews, and analysis on church politics, iconography, memory, and Orthodox Christianity in crisis.
Exhibitions
Curatorial projects on contemporary Christian art, icons, and the visual witness of faith in wartime and beyond.
For Press
Bio, areas of commentary, and selected coverage — for journalists, editors, and event organizers.
Get in Touch
Questions, comments, or collaboration proposals? Contact me directly.