Holy Russia, Sacred Israel

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Both Russia and Israel are vilified in the Western media, caricatured as enemies of humanity, democracy, and progress. At the heart of their connection lies a shared vocation: the call to embody and uphold divine law amidst an ever-secularizing world. Holy Russia, with its deep Orthodox Christian heritage, as the custodian of spiritual truth, stands as a bastion against moral relativism. Similarly, Israel’s founding premise as the Chosen People enshrines its role as a bearer of divine commandments as a “light unto the nations.”

This divine destiny finds expression in both nations’ reverence for the Holy Land. For centuries, Russian Orthodox pilgrims have journeyed to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. Tsar Alexander II in the 19th century established the Russian Orthodox Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem in 1847, which continues to steward key holy sites, affirming Russia’s commitment to the Jewish people.

Israel’s connection to Russia is mirrored in the resilience of the Jewish diaspora, whose communities preserved their covenantal identity despite centuries of persecution. From the establishment of the Pale of Settlement by Catherine the Great in 1791, Russian Jews unyielding devotion, echoed Russia’s own sacred mission. This dual sense of separation—misunderstood as Jews within Russia and as Russians abroad—embodied a unique cultural and spiritual paradox. Philosopher Vladimir Solovyov (1853–1900) captured this dynamic with prophetic clarity.

“The election of Israel by God is not an act of exclusion but one of inclusion: through Israel, all nations are meant to be brought closer to God. The people of Israel were chosen to bear the Word, the divine revelation, and through them, the light was to shine upon the world” (Three Conversations on War, Progress, and the End of History’, 1900, 104).

Solovyov further argued that the Jewish people’s survival amid dispersion bore testament to their sacred mission:

“Despite the dispersal and suffering of the Jewish people, their continued existence is proof of their divine vocation, for their very being witnesses to God’s providence and the promise of redemption” (Three Conversations, 112).

His earlier work, Judaism and the Christian Question (1884), called for reconciliation between Christianity and Judaism, emphasizing their shared spiritual foundation:

“It was the Jewish people who first received the Word of God and preserved it with unwavering faithfulness. This shared foundation makes the spiritual bond between Christians and Jews indissoluble” (Judaism and the Christian Question, 45).

To Solovyov, the chosenness of Israel and Christianity’s universal mission were complementary, integral to humanity’s salvation. His insights epitomise Russia’s calling as a nation tasked with safeguarding divine truth.

The Church of Mary Magdalene, built in 1888 on the Mount of Olives, testifies to Russian devotion to Jerusalem as a spiritual homeland. Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin, whose tireless efforts to acquire land and build institutions like the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Jerusalem reflect an enduring commitment to this sacred trust.

During the First Aliyah (1881–1903), Jews fleeing pogroms sought refuge in Zion, driven by biblical prophecy and historical yearning. Pioneers like Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, a Russian-born architect of modern Hebrew, saw their return as the fulfilment of divine promise. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 paved the way for over one million Russian-speaking Jews to return to Israel. This influx infused Israeli society with the language, traditions, and spiritual heritage of Russian Jewry, further entwining the destinies of the two nations. In 2022, Israel formally recognized Russian ownership of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Jerusalem, affirming the historical depth of Russian Orthodoxy’s presence.

Holy Russia and Sacred Israel stand as signs of contradiction to a world seduced by the Enlightenment ideals of human progress devoid of the moral absolutes and personally relatable God which Judeo-Christianity uniquely attests to.