Pavlo Smytsnyuk

Pavlo Smytsnyuk specializes in political theology, peacebuilding, and religious nationalism. Since the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian war, his research has focused on the religious dimensions of war and peace, including just war theory, concepts of justice, and the instrumentalization of religion.

Pavlo held research and teaching positions at George Washington University and a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University. From 2019 to 2022, he served as Director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies and Senior Lecturer at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. He studied philosophy and theology in Rome, Athens, and St. Petersburg, and earned a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Dr. Smytsnyuk is co-editor of Marian Reflections on War and Peace: Trauma, Mourning, and Justice in Ukraine and Beyond (Routledge, 2025) and has published over two dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. His most recent article analyzes the Holy See’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine through the lens of neutrality.