Violence would have been a solution.

His followers could have taken up the sword and made sure that he was not sentenced to death and crucified like a common criminal.

But Jesus explains why such use of force is not an option for him: “My kingdom is not of this world.

If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight for it.”

The sentence is addressed to Pontius Pilate, the governor of an empire that could hardly have been stronger "of this world".

The exchange of words between Jesus and Pilate is a key passage in the Gospel of John.

Because he makes it clear that there is not only a connection between the Passion of Christ and the use of violence, but that Christianity has dealt with the problem of political theology since its beginnings.

Charged Imperial Myths

The German word "Reich" leads straight to the heart of the problem.

It is reminiscent of the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation", in which political and religious ideas mixed with each other.

After its end in 1806, the myth of the empire continued to haunt people's minds in the German-speaking world, until it became politically obsolete and morally bankrupt after two world wars had been lost.

However, a religiously charged imperial myth is not unique in Germany, but also has a long tradition in Russia.

There the problem of political theology is even more acute because in the Eastern Church tradition, unlike in the Latin Churches, the idea of ​​a “symphony” of state and church power is very important.

In addition, there is an explosive parallel between today's Russia and the situation in Germany after the First World War: In both cases, the excessive imperial desires are fed by an unresolved experience: Both times the "Reich" had lost parts of its supposedly sacred earth.

Cyril's theology as "blasphemy"

Moscow Patriarch Kirill has put the Russian Orthodox Church at the service of a cult composed of contrasting ideological fragments ranging from Tsarism to Stalinism.

His goal is to restore the lost empire.

The EKD Council Chairwoman Annette Kurschus calls Cyril's political theology a "blasphemy".

That's a harsh word, given the verse from John's gospel, but it's apt.

For the kingdom of God that Jesus speaks of is not based on the use of tanks and rockets.

Theology is therefore faced with the task of countering the superimposition of the worldly and divine kingdoms, which represent a fundamental evil in the history of religion.

A conceivable solution to the separation of these two kingdoms is a radical pacifism that endures brute force defenseless but unyielding.

Such a form of following Jesus can lead to impressive testimonies of the Christian faith.

What is questionable, however, is a living room chair pacifism that exhausts itself in recommending that others suffer helplessly from violence.

Pacifism functions as a mode of existence, not as a political theology.

Martin Luther described this problem succinctly: “Even if you do not need your enemy to be punished, your sick neighbor does.

You shall help him so that he may have peace.”

Enforce protection by force

This insight also led Luther to his so-called two-kingdom doctrine.

As long as one merely renounces one's own interests, one can (and should) act according to the rules of the kingdom "that is not of this world".

However, as soon as one represents the interests of third parties and in particular the weak, the law of the worldly kingdom must be enforced: a law that is not religiously exaggerated, that does not encroach on the freedom of conscience, that is limited to its protective function on this earth, but enforce this protection, if necessary, also with the use of force.

In this respect, Luther's doctrine of the two kingdoms was a critique of political theologies that mixed the two kingdoms together.

However, the question remains as to where “the kingdom that is not of this world” can still gain space at all.

Does the two-kingdoms-doctrine allow charity and non-violence to peter out in the private sphere instead of bringing them to bear politically?

The danger cannot be dismissed out of hand.

The Holy and Easter days offer the opportunity to examine one's own conscience to see to what extent the images from the war are already brutalizing one's own feelings or the desire for justice for the victims is being overshadowed by one's own desire for revenge.

For in the hearts of man there must be no two kingdoms.

Even in times of war, the spirit of peace must prevail.