Russian archbishop slams Chechen commander’s religious statement

Archbishop Savva (Tutunov), head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Synodal Missionary Department, criticised Chechen special forces “Akhmat” commander Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov’s statements in his book “The Army of Jesus in the Battle Against the Army of Dajjal-Antichrist,” rejecting the claim that Muslims and Christians worship the same God as unacceptable for Orthodox believers.

In a post on Telegram, the archbishop stressed that anyone identifying as a Christian while embracing Alaudinov’s ideology contradicts Orthodox teachings, Caliber.Az reports.

He emphasised that the general’s view is theologically incompatible with Orthodox understanding of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, Archbishop Savva noted that no one can object to Alaudinov expressing such beliefs as a Muslim. “We must unite both on the battlefield and in shared efforts, but this does not mean that such solidarity should influence what we believe or how we preach our faith,” he said.

Earlier, Priest Sergiy Fufayev, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Missionary Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Apologetic Mission, also labelled Alaudinov’s views heretical, highlighting that key aspects of the general’s claims—namely, that Muslims and Christians believe in the same God and the same Jesus Christ, and that Jesus will lead armies against the Antichrist—constitute heresy.

By Jeyhun Aghazada