In Russia, only about 1.4 million people came to churches on Christmas Day, January 7. This is approximately 1% of the population.
“More than 1.4 million people took part in the celebrations in 6,000 settlements across the Russian Federation. In the new entities of the Russian Federation, 167 festive events were held in 72 settlements, in which more than 12,700 people took part,” Interfax reported with reference to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irina Volk.
Such low attendance is a traditional indicator for “Orthodox” Russia. For example, in 2021, 1.6 million Russians attended Easter services. In early 2022, the same 1.4 million residents went to church on Christmas.
These statistics once again confirm that Orthodoxy is not a popular religion in Russia, and that Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has almost no followers left.
As reported earlier, a Russian cleric who openly stood against Kremlin’s war on Ukraine was banned from ministry.
