Since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill has delivered sermons blessing Russian troops
Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, close to President Vladimir Putin, today called on Moscow and Kyiv to proceed with a ceasefire in Ukraine on the occasion of Christmas, which is celebrated for the Russian Orthodox on Saturday, January 7.
“I, Cyril, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, address all the parties involved in the fratricidal conflict to call to establish a ceasefire and to seal a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 00:00 on January 7,” he said in a message posted on the Church’s website.
According to him, the truce should serve so that “the Orthodox can attend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services” in Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine are two countries whose inhabitants are mostly Orthodox Christians, but Kyiv has been moving away from the religious tutelage of Moscow in recent years mainly with the establishment of an autocephalous Orthodox Church.
Since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine Patriarch Kirill delivered sermons in which he gave his blessing to the Russian troops simultaneously criticizing the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine, for its part, has conducted a series of searches of churches and monasteries under the Moscow Patriarchate as part of “counter-espionage” measures.
Although the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate severed ties with Russia in May due to the Russian invasion, many of its officials have been punished by Kyiv for positions deemed pro-Russian.
RES-EMP
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