While many commentators identify the restrainer as the Holy Spirit who works in and through the Church and whose subsequent removal necessitates a “pre-tribulation rapture” scenario, this identifying of Russia as the restrainer, according to Riccardi-Swartz, is reinforced by the canonization of Nicholas II, whose intercessions are believed to protect Russia from evil.

As such, Riccardi-Swartz said, this “holy war” narrative serves as an appeal to Russian nationalism and a denunciation of modern Western values, further cementing Kirill’s alignment with Putin’s agenda to depict Russia as a defender of traditional Christian values.

“It’s clear that both Putin and the Moscow Patriarchate (Patriarch Kirill) are using language that aligns with this theological opinion,” she told CP. “They often position themselves as if they — and Russia as a nation — are on a holy mission to preserve traditional values from Western secularism.”

This ideological overlap between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin, said Riccardi-Swartz, is one of mutual benefit.

“Scholars have been quick to point out that there seems to be a cozy relationship between the Kremlin and Russian Orthodox Church,” she says. “It’s also clear from recent policies, particularly around [LGBT] and human rights, that religious values are playing a valuable role in crafting governance and marketing a Christian conservative Russian ethos for interested parties abroad even if that’s not the reality on the ground.” (Read more from “Russia ‘Restraining’ the Antichrist? Orthodox Church Believes Last Czar ‘Held Back Satanic Socialism’” HERE)