Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill has called on Russians to be united and ready to serve the government for the rest of their lives. He stated this in his Sunday sermon in Moscow.
“May the Lord help all of us to unite, including around the government, in this difficult time for our Motherland, and may the government fulfill its responsibility before its people, humility and readiness to serve this government for the rest of their lives,” he said.
Cyril believes that this will be a sign of “true solidarity,” which will “arrange life in such a way that in this life there is as much good, truth, and love.”
It should be recalled that Vladimir Putin’s trusted ally, Patriarch Cyril, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, refused to condemn the Kremlin’s decision to invade Ukraine and called Russia’s opponents in Ukraine an “evil force.” In a Sunday sermon before Lent, he said one of the causes of the war in Ukraine was gay parades set up by the West.
As for the head of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Onufriy, on the first day of the war he called on the president of the aggressor power Vladimir Putin to immediately cease the “fratricidal war” and expressed support for the Ukrainian soldiers. However, he did not condemn Cyril and continues to commemorate him in his prayers.
It should be recalled that a bill banning the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate on the territory of Ukraine was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The bill proposes to ban the activities in Ukraine of the Russian Orthodox Church and religious organizations that are part of it, in particular, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – MP. The bill also provides for all property of the ROC in Ukraine to be nationalized.
