Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers | |
Native Name: | Союз православных хоругвеносцев |
Native Name Lang: | ru |
Colorcode: |
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Abbreviation: | SPKh (English) СПХ (Russian) |
Leader: | Leonid Simonovich-Nikshich (1999-2022) |
Headquarters: | Moscow, Russia |
Newspaper: | Russian News |
Ideology: | Orthodox nationalism Christian fundamentalism Russian ultranationalism Pan-Slavism Absolute monarchism Tsarist autocracy Homophobia Anti-Darwinism |
Position: | Far-right |
Religion: | Russian Orthodox Church |
Colours: | Black Gold White |
Slogan: | "Orthodoxy or death!" (Russian: "Православие или смерть!") |
Website: | pycckie.org |
Country: | Russia |
The Union of Orthodox Banner-Bearers (SPKh; Russian: Союз православных хоругвеносцев; СПХ; Soyuz pravoslavnykh khorugvenostsev, SPKh) is a Russian nationalist-fundamentalist organization that identifies itself as part of the Russian Orthodox Church, though the church has implicitly repudiated that claim. The organisation was led by Leonid Simonović-Nikšić (d.2021) who co-founded the group in 1992. The Union's stated primary aim is to "resurrect the spirit" of Russian Orthodoxy, by conducting processions with banners and icons in Moscow, other parts of Russia.
The group became famous for its use and promulgation of the phrase "Orthodoxy or Death!," and its association with violent skinhead reactionaries. In 2009 the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, denounced this slogan and said to "beware" those who used it, calling it "dangerous, false and intrinsically contradictory": A Moscow court later agreed in a decision denouncing the phrase as "extremist."