Steve Briggs is a strategic leader of digital technology firms in disruptive industries with more than 20 years' experience in telecoms, banking, and digital products, both in start-ups and established businesses. He holds a BCom Honours (economics) and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand, and a postgraduate diploma and master's degree in theology from Stellenbosch University.

The fault lines running through the Russian and Ukrainian strands of Orthodoxy make the Russian invasion of Ukraine a religious war, offering an important lens from which to view the current conflict.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is increasingly seen as a religious war. And Vladimir Putin is using the Russian Orthodox Church for theological and political support, creating an interesting parallel between the support provided by the Dutch Reformed Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, NGK) for apartheid and the Russian Orthodox Church's support for Putin's aggression. This action calls into question the South African government's assessment of the conflict and its distorted approach to Putin's government.

The NGK played a central role in justifying apartheid at the time. Putin has adopted a similar approach in using the church to justify the invasion, with questionable reasoning and leading some to call this an outright...