August M
Russia’s most senior cleric has delivered another forceful endorsement of President Vladimir Putin, portraying the current period as one of divine favour and moral clarity. The remarks reinforce the close alignment between the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church since the invasion of Ukraine.
The comments were reported by digi24.ro, citing Russian and independent media.
Gift from above
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, told worshippers that Russians are living in “very prosperous times” because Putin is “the first Orthodox president since the tsarist era”.
“Sometimes you really think: God, is this really happening?” Kirill said during a sermon at the Church of St. Vladimir the Great in Moscow’s Krylatskoye district. According to the patriarch, “this is truly a gift from above.”
He urged gratitude not only for the country but also for its leadership. “Therefore, we must be grateful to God for the country we live in and, frankly, for the government… and, of course, for everything that Russia is doing today,” he said, according to moscowtimes.ru.
Moral divide
Kirill called on Russians to support both the Church and the state, warning against outside influences he said were trying to divert the country from its path.
He contrasted Russia’s direction with what he described as the West’s decline. ‘We will not judge anyone, but the spiritual and moral crisis of that society is completely obvious,’ he said, adding that societies built only on ‘science, technology and capital’ struggle to make people happy, reports digi24.ro.
Faith and power
The patriarch has repeatedly praised Putin’s personal faith, previously calling him “an example of a good Christian” and describing the president as a “sincere believer” who is not ashamed to attend church or receive communion.
Kirill has also urged Russians to pray for the president. Putin, for his part, has said he sometimes feels the need to ‘turn to the Almighty and worship,’ and has spoken publicly about kneeling in prayer, noted digi24.ro
War theology
According to Digi24.ro, since the start of the war in Ukraine, Kirill has emerged as a leading religious advocate of the invasion. He has described the conflict as morally justified and previously said that dying in battle could absolve sins
On 27 September 2022, during a Ukrainian counteroffensive, he told Russian soldiers that those who die while carrying out their duty “offer themselves as a sacrifice for others,” adding that such a sacrifice “washes away all sins.”
Soruces: Digi24.ro
