Victory over our adversaries! During the Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 – September 5, 190

Victory over our adversaries!

During the Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 – September 5, 1905), fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan, Saint Nicholas of Japan—who served as the Bishop of Tokyo and head of the Japanese Orthodox Church—was approached by his faithful. They asked which nation and army the Orthodox believers should pray for to achieve victory.

He advised the Japanese Orthodox Christians to fulfill their patriotic duty and pray for Japan. As a Russian, however, he abstained from public prayers for a Japanese victory, while fulfilling his patriotic duty as a Russian and prayed for Russia.

His stance earned him deep admiration for neutrality from Japanese society and Emperor Meiji, which protected the church from nationalist hostility.

St. Nicholas of Japan is a symbol of patriotism and neutrality. For Russians, just as any other nationals, defending and preserving one's motherland is a sacred duty. For this same reason, they fought against the Tatar-Mongols, the Turks, Napoleon, and the Nazis in the First and Second World Wars. They will not pray for nor betray their nation and family for another who is clearly not in their best interest. That is patriotism.

The Church, on the other hand, as the Body of Christ, maintains neutrality. For we all—Russians, Greeks, Ukrainians, Africans, Americans, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans… are individually members of this One Body. Because one is directly or indirectly affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate does not mean an allegiance or an obligation to Russia just as the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) is falsely being accused of by the Ukrainian authorities. An American is an American, and an African is an African... Our ethnicity, nationality, and language are never in question.

May St. Nicholas of Japan intercede for us ☦️

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