Every day, the collaboration of Russian churchmen with the aggressor state and its army in the war against Ukraine becomes more and more outright. Recently, the ROC’s official website posted a report of a number of its priests being awarded for “assistance in supporting soldiers” in the so-called “Special Military Operation” zone.
The priests received the awards from the Russian Guard Commander, Viktor Zolotov, who was personally blessed by Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev at the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior at the outset of the full-scale Russian invasion.
However, the award, namely the medal of assistance, was not issued to Gundyaev, but to the senior priest of the Russian Guard in the SMO zone, Archpriest Svyatoslav Churkanov, who is also the head of the Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces at the Zheleznogorodsk Diocese.
It is not difficult to guess how exactly this priest “assisted” the Russian terrorists. It is obvious that he blessed the killing of peaceful Ukrainians. Also noteworthy is the fact that this priest holds the position of senior cleric of the so-called SMO! This title means that there are already many such priests who “help” Russian murderers.
In addition, the head of the Russian Guard sector of the Synodal Department for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies, priest Roman Bogdasarov, was awarded the medal of honor and valor.
It is also worth noting that the awards were presented by some rank-and-file officer or authorized serviceman in cooperation with the church, and the head of the Main Military-Political Department of the Russian Guard, Lieutenant General Grigoriy Moshchyk himself.
Such awards once again testify to the active participation of Russian churchmen in the war against Ukraine. And the publication on the main church media platform indicates that this participation has reached a new level.
After all, let’s remind you that earlier, the ROC did not show off their cooperation in the war in Ukraine much, and even more so the awards for this assistance. Only in some fringe outlets could such messages appear on the internet, but they were very often rebuffed. Now they seem to have become prestigious.
It is likely that in the near future the head of the ROC will receive a similar award “for support and assistance” to Russian aggression. But will he and other “order bearers” wear their medals to the court in The Hague? We hope that we will see the answer to this question as well as the trial of the aggressor very soon.
