The Russian Orthodox Leader at the Core of Putin’s Ambitions

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Patriarch Kirill I has provided spiritual cover for the invasion of Ukraine, reaping vast resources for his church in return. Now, in an extraordinary step, the E.U. is threatening him with sanctions.

Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfolded, Patriarch Kirill I, the leader of the Moscow-based Russian Orthodox Church, had an awkward Zoom meeting with Pope Francis.

The two religious leaders had previously worked together to bridge a 1,000-year-old schism between the Christian churches of the East and West. But the meeting, in March, found them on opposing sides of a chasm. Kirill spent 20 minutes reading prepared remarks, echoing the arguments of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that the war in Ukraine was necessary to purge Nazis and oppose NATO expansion.

Francis was evidently flummoxed. “Brother, we are not clerics of the state,” the pontiff told Kirill, he later recounted to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, adding that “the patriarch cannot transform himself into Putin’s altar boy.”

Today, Kirill stands apart not merely from Francis, but from much of the world. The leader of about 100 million faithful, Kirill, 75, has staked the fortunes of his branch of Orthodox Christianity on a close and mutually beneficial alliance with Mr. Putin, offering him spiritual cover while his church — and possibly he himself — receives vast resources in return from the Kremlin, allowing him to extend his influence in the Orthodox world.

To his critics, the arrangement has made Kirill far more than another apparatchik, oligarch or enabler of Mr. Putin, but an essential part of the nationalist ideology at the heart of the Kremlin’s expansionist designs.

Kirill has called Mr. Putin’s long tenure “a miracle of God,” and has characterized the war as a just defense against liberal conspiracies to infiltrate Ukraine with “gay parades.” » | Jason Horowitz | Saturday, May 21, 2022

'I'm Shocked by My Church Leaders in Moscow' - Priest in Ukraine

Father Nicolay Pluzhnik
BBC: The Russian Orthodox Church has echoed the rhetoric of the Kremlin in justifying the war in Ukraine. It is a stance that appears to be driving large numbers of Ukrainian priests and parishioners to turn their backs on Moscow.

"I will never forget the moment when I woke up early to go to mass, only to suddenly hear the shocking sounds of bombing," says Father Nicolay Pluzhnik.

"The wonderful woman who cooked at our church and her son, who was in a wheelchair, were both killed when an artillery shell hit their apartment. I now know of several other of our parishioners who have died."

Like most clergy in the region of north-eastern Ukraine where he is from, Father Pluzhnik belonged to the branch of the Russian Orthodox Church which takes its direction from its religious leadership in Moscow.

But now, he says, has applied to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - which was finally granted independence from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019, in a move never recognised by Russia.

He says many fellow priests who followed Patriarch Kirill in Moscow are doing the same because of the Church leader's stance on the war. » | Aleem Maqbool, religion editor, Chernivtsi, western Ukraine | Friday, April 15, 2022

The Guardian View on the Russian Orthodox Church: Betrayed by Putin’s Patriarch

THE GUARDIAN: Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has given theological cover for Vladimir Putin’s murderous assault on Ukraine

Kirill’s militant fusion of ethno-nationalism, authoritarianism and religious identity is beyond the pale.’ Photograph: AP
In 1934, as Adolf Hitler consolidated his grip on power in Germany, a courageous group of Protestant pastors resisted attempts to create a pro-Nazi unified Reich Church. In what became known as the Barmen Declaration, they asserted the absolute separation of church and state, rejecting the “false doctrine” that “the church in human arrogance could place the Word and work of the Lord in the service of any arbitrarily chosen desires, purposes, and plans”.

It is a measure of these disturbing times that last month hundreds of Orthodox Christian clergy, scholars and lay people felt the need to issue a similar declaration, excoriating the complicity of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Their document, entitled A Declaration on the “Russian World” Teaching, condemns Patriarch Kirill of Moscow for providing theological cover for a barbarous and illegal war.

Kirill, who had close links with the KGB in Soviet times, has described Mr Putin’s leadership as a religious miracle. As bombs have rained down on Ukrainian cities, he has asserted that it is “God’s truth” that the people of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus should be reunited as one spiritual people. During a sermon delivered in Moscow last month, he portrayed the invasion of Ukraine as part of a “metaphysical” struggle against a decadent west – a civilisation deemed to have capitulated to materialism, moral relativism, globalisation and the promotion of homosexuality. Having become a vassal of the sinful west, Ukraine must be saved and restored to “Holy Rus”. This kind of conflation of race, nation and the church, the authors of the “Russian world” declaration point out, has previously been condemned as a heresy by the Orthodox tradition. » | Editorial | Sunday, April 3, 2022

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow : Bigot, Homophobe and Nationalist

Mar 10, 2022 • The irony is that Russian orthodoxy began in Kyiv!

"Russia Uses Religious Sentiments to Support Political Crusades" Religion in the Russia-Ukraine War

Mar 15, 2022 • Russian Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has spoken of Russia's opponents as 'evil forces,' portraying Ukraine as a nation succumbing to 'sinful Western practices,' such as gay pride parades. The church's close ties to the Kremlin have been essential to getting the public to rally behind the war effort, says DW's religious affairs analyst Martin Gak.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, some 30 million orthodox Christians are split between a self-governing church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church which is part of the Moscow Patriarchate. But since the invasion, the rival leaders have been united in their condemnation of Russia.

Ukraine is also home to 4.5 million catholics, who are looking to the head of their church to wage peace. A Vatican official has said Pope Francis would be willing to facilitate dialogue in the Ukraine conflict. But while the pontiff has called it a 'war which sows death, destruction and misery' - he has neither named Vladimir Putin as the aggressor, nor appealed to Kirill to intervene on the side of peace.

‘Western Laws Now Clash with Moral Nature of Man’ – Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill (Exclusive)

In an exclusive interview with RT, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, shared his ideas on the difficult situations of Christians in the Middle East, the US presidential election, and European multiculturalism.

‘We Need Joint Action to Protect the Christians in the Middle East’ - Patriarch Kirill (Exclusive)

Russian Orthodox Church Supports Putin's 'Holy War' in Syria to Protect Christians

CHRISTIAN TODAY: Russia is waging a "holy war" in Syria to protect innocent Christians against the "tyranny of terrorism," the powerful Russian Orthodox Church declared in a statement on Wednesday as Russian warplanes began pounding targets in Syria.

"Russia took a responsible decision to use military forces to protect the Syrian people from the woes brought on by the tyranny of terrorists," Russian Orthodox Church's Patriarch Kirill said in an official statement.

The Patriarch said Russia's armed intervention became necessary since "the political process has not led to any noticeable improvement in the lives of innocent people, and they need military protection."

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church, which has 150 million members worldwide, pointed out that President Vladimir Putin's decision to send Russian forces to Syria has the approval of parliament and is "consistent with international law, the mentality of our people and the role that our country has always played in the Middle East," the Interfax news agency said as reported by the International Business Times.

Chaplin said Russia cannot turn its back on Christians and other minority groups being wiped out by Islamic State militants and other extremist forces. » | Hazel Torres | Friday, October 2, 2015

Russland: Patriarch nennt Homo-Ehe Symptom für Weltuntergang

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Homosexualität sei Sünde und Selbstzerstörung für ein Volk: Der orthodoxe russische Patriarch Kirill wettert gegen gleichgeschlechtliche Ehen. Mit dieser Meinung steht der Kirchenmann in Russland nicht allein da.

Moskau - Erst kürzlich hat Russland "Homosexuellen-Propaganda" gesetzlich verboten - ein Zugeständnis an die einflussreiche Kirche im Land. Jetzt legt der russisch-orthodoxe Patriarch Kirill noch einmal nach und hetzt in drastischen Worten gegen gleichgeschlechtliche Ehen.

Viele Staaten, in denen eine Minderheit Gesetze durchdrücke, hätten sich zuletzt für die Sünde entschieden, sagte Kirill am Sonntag bei einem Gottesdienst in Moskau, berichtet die Agentur Interfax. In der Kasaner Kathedrale am Roten Platz sagte er demnach: "Das ist ein sehr gefährliches apokalyptisches Symptom. (...) Denn das bedeutet, dass das Volk den Pfad der Selbstzerstörung einschlägt." » | lgr/dpa | Sonntag, 21. Juli 2013