The Russian Orthodox Church has played a significant role in depicting an alleged enemy of the Russian people in metaphysical terms, making extensive use of biblical motifs and narratives. Since Russia's war against Ukraine began in 2014, these patterns have become more widespread, finding their way into political propaganda and international religious networking. As sermons are the most common means of engaging with the Bible in Orthodox religious practice, they are important vehicles for disseminating this ideology. Patriarch Kirill's frequent sermons, the most prominent public expression of the ideological basis of the war, provide a case study in the selective use of biblical motifs without any critical analysis of the texts themselves. Other high-ranking public figures in the ROC take a similar approach to the Bible, portraying the world as a battlefield between good and evil and incorporating historical Russian warfare into the biblical concept of divine providence. However, while proponents of the war use biblical motifs to characterise the enemy and justify war as a defence against them, anti-war actors simultaneously engage with the same Bible and sometimes even the same motifs to voice their opposition to the war and its ideology. In their effort to reclaim the biblical tradition for nonviolent conflict transformation and peaceful communal life, they also turn to the biblical images of fighting the enemy and combating evil in order to frame the war and its proponents. This paper aims to analyse the disputes surrounding the correct interpretation of the Bible, as well as the various claims to authenticity and truth amid war propaganda. It also situates the Russian Orthodox case within the broader context of global debates about the Bible as a tool of division and othering, demonstrating the interconnectedness of these discourses and their strategic and political efficacy.