India, June 7 -- Without Church's authority, vigilante actions may appear arbitrary; with it, they can beportrayed as the defence of sacred values. The implications extend beyond Russia itself.

When the Russian Orthodox Church encouraged its bishops last year to build formal partnerships with Russkaya Obshina, the largest of Russia's growing nationalist vigilante movements, it was making a political statement as much as a religious one. By doing so, the Church lent its considerable moral authority to a group known for raiding nightclubs, targeting migrant workers, and campaigning against people whose lifestyles they consider incompatible with traditional Russian values.

This endorsement was not an isolated mistake or the work of a fring...