The window in the center of the main altar of the spectacular St. Isaac’s cathedral in St. Petersburg is a stained-glass icon that depicts Jesus holding a flag with a white cross in a red background. This is the ancient flag of the Resurrection of Christ, which is very similar to the flag of Denmark. The white cross is a symbol of purity and resurrection standing against a backdrop of spilled blood.
According to folklore, the Danish flag, known as the Dannebrog, “fell from the sky” during the Battle of Lyndanisse (Christian Danes against Pagans) on June 15, 1219, providing a sign of divine support to King Valdemar II and leading to a Danish victory: “By this, you will win.”
Historically, the venerable societies of both Denmark and Russia were originally organized under a Christian state church. In contemporary Denmark, only about 15% of the population still believes in “divine power,” yet 72% continue to be members of the Lutheran “State Church” (52) which is a kind of “culture club.” (Concerning the “Christian” character of this “State Church,” two incidents were widely publicized wherein well-paid “priests” publicly made shocking comments without losing their jobs, in one case “I don’t believe in God, but I think it is good that other people do,” and in another “I decided to hold services on Saturday so that I could spend Sunday at home with my family.”) In contemporary Russia, 34 years after the fall of the communists, 72% of the population now identifies as Orthodox Christian. (53) Priests in Russia are not, by any means, well-paid. Even the tendency of bishops to cavort in Mercedes cars is less about avarice than about being considered “equals” with Russian capitalists as “pillars of society.”
Contemporary Denmark and Russia each continues to manifest an important hallmark of a society founded on the principle “love thy neighbor as thyself:” This is the spiritual phenomenon whereby individuals exist in “trinitarian communion” within a higher, collective “love of the people.”
This is very pronounced in Denmark. The same spiritual collective love that brings danes together “pushes out” foreigners, who (even including Americans) invariably develop a feeling of alienation, even though Danes do sincerely live according to the principle “love thy Danish neighbor as thyself” and do not consciously exclude other ethnicities.
The effect is more subtle in Russia. There is no element of “alienation” in that the collective “love of the Russian people” (which relates more to Orthodox spirituality than to Russian ethnicity) does not “push out” Tatars or any of the many ethnic minorities who co-exist peacefully here. In Russia, this phenomenon developed during the Holy Russia era and is known as “sobornost.” (Discussed in post 2 – “The ‘spiritual component’ of economy in the Russian Federation”).
The collective “love of the Danish people” in contemporary Denmark can be readily distinguished from (what remains of) “sobornost” in contemporary Russia. On the one hand, the Danish phenomenon is a manifestation of “love for neighbor as thyself.” The Danes are indeed “doing their father’s will” as per the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:31). And in this regard, Christ is still “in there somewhere” whether atheist Danes believe this or not. This is in stark contrast with the situation in the USA – The American political-economic order of “mechanical capitalism” “commodifies” “human personality” as an “impersonal module within a consumer-technological system” and thereby renders society “spiritless,” i.e., incapable of “trinitarian communion.” Whereas Danes truly are (for now) still united, spiritually, within the collective “love of the danish people,” American consumers are “united” in what I consider to be a terrifying, “spiritless” economic machine that generates material well being for individuals living within a spiritual wasteland.
The Danes have very much in common with Russians and have much shared history. The last Czar Niklolai II, martyred by the communists, and now acknowledged as an Orthodox saint, was half-Dane. He spent his summers in Copenhagen as a boy growing up.
In contrast, the Danes have almost nothing in common with Americans. And yet, ironically, contemporary Danes have loudly rejected all ties with Russia in favor of alignment with the “Reagan Economic Miracle” USA – even to the point where tiny Denmark sent soldiers to die in American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The famous Russian Orthodox Church in downtown Copenhagen which was built across the street from the Danish royal palace by Czar Nikolai’s parents (at their own expense), and which was my parish for many years, now refers to itself as “Russian with a little r” claiming to be “ruled by New York rather than by Moscow” (54).
Danes are following in Americans’ footsteps! You could say they have sold their “birthright” for a toxic bowl of “Reagan Economic Miracle” porridge. During my 20 years in Denmark, I witnessed the gradual demise of the Danes’ spiritually evolved state. In order to BE their prayer, sinners struggling to be Orthodox Christian in contemporary Denmark now have no choice but to “swim upstream” in society. I think this is because there is very little “prayerfulness” contributing to the collective “love of the danish people” – this is “fed” by the predominantly atheist Danish people themselves whose longings are much more material-consumerist than “prayerful.” (This is not only my opinion but also one shared by a good Danish friend of mine who was formerly an Orthodox priest).
In contrast with the Danish phenomenon, in my experience, because “sobornost” is still manifest in contemporary Russia, it is still readily possible for sinners struggling to be Orthodox Christians to BE their prayer while “swimming with the stream” of Russian society. I think this is because “sobornost” is indeed “fed” by “prayerful” longings of the masses and by the “measure of yeast” effect whereby a small percentage (7%)(53) of serious church-going people who regularly participate in the “sacrament of the assembly” of the “Mystical Body of Christ” actively contribute to its “maintenance.” (Discussed in post 13 – “Letters to my godson on the ‘work of the people’ and the future of Russia – (e). Taking it to the streets.”)
For now, at least, the banner of the Resurrection of Christ still waves over Russia. Talk about “spilled blood!” It is difficult to fully comprehend the magnitude of Russian blood (which is indistinguishable genetically from “Ukrainian” blood) that has been spilled in order that contemporary Russia could reach the point that it has now reached – where Russia alone was strong enough to be able to “take a stand” AS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY against the global “Reagan Economic Miracle.” The cost in “suffering” of Russia’s repentance from “atheist materialism” has been very great. But the question arises – what might the world look like if self-styled “Christians” in the USA, which has now taken over as the world’s leading proponent of “atheist materialism,” also joined in the path of repentance? Do they really believe that it is God, rather than the “Reagan Economic Miracle,” that calls them to a “showdown fight” with the evil Russians?
Russia has, for now, preserved its spiritual well being. But it is currently on a path towards a Russian version of “mechanical capitalism” that is alarmingly similar to what ultimately “Satanized” the once-noble USA. So, it is by no means clear how Russian society will evolve from here. There is clearly considerable risk that, as “material levels” rise, many if not most of the 72% of Russians who currently identify as “Orthodox Christians” could eventually become like the 57% of Danes who don’t believe in “divine power” but are still members of the “State Church” “culture club.”
As far as Denmark, without doubt, what the Danes have achieved is a spiritually evolved state, compared with the disjointed “cult of individualism” expressed by the “adolescent” Americans whom they slavishly follow. Danes love to wave the Danish flag for birthdays, celebrations and so on. But this is just another “cultural practice” like the Danish “State Church” itself. It is difficult to see how this relates in any intentional, conscious manner with Christ.
Still, there remains hope for Denmark. And this is related to the hope that remains for the USA itself (Discussed in post 4 – “The great hope – to ‘Make America Good Again.’”) I believe that, thanks in part to Russia, the global “Reagan Economic Miracle” will soon collapse, and this will take Denmark down as well. Danes and also Americans will be faced with a choice similar to the ONGOING CHOICE that Russians faced and continue to face after the fall of the communists – how to re-build society?
It is tempting to hold out hope that Danes will, in the end, return to “their roots” and to the martyred half-Dane Czar, and in the process, convert the infrastructure of their “State Church” “culture club” to bona fide Orthodoxy.
Notes:
(52). “Why are Danes and Swedes so irreligious?,” P. Zuckerman (2009) Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 22(1):55.
(53). “Russians Return to Religion, But Not to Church,” Pew Research Center, February 2014, Communication 202.419.4562 72%
(54). “Russisk med lille r,” A. Esbjørnsen Weekendavisen August 6, 2025.
Leave a Comment