Russian President Vladimir Putin has likened himself to Jesus Christ as he explained his mission to uphold ‘traditional values’ to children. In a video call to mark the opening of children’s centres near Moscow, he was heard speaking in overtly religious terms about the need to shape the worldview of young Russians. Putin emphasised the Read more
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed into law a bill moving the official observance of Christmas Day to Dec 25 from Jan 7, when Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church mark the holiday. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved the measure — which also adjusts the dates of the Day of Ukrainian Statehood and the Read more
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, met with World Council of Churches acting general secretary Dr Ioan Sauca, in Moscow on 17 October 2022. In addition to a public conversation, Patriarch Kirill and Dr Sauca had their own private audience to discuss Orthodox matters. Patriarch Kirill welcomed the guests, saying: “I Read more
Less than a month after meeting briefly with Pope Francis in Kazakhstan, one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s most senior prelates has said that relations between the two churches are more or less at a standstill. In an interview with the “Church and Peace” programme on Russian television station Russia 24, Metropolitan Anthony Sevryuk of Read more
A meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, appears to be scrapped after the cleric, who has been widely criticised for his justifications for the invasion of Ukraine, pulled out of a meeting of religious leaders in Kazakhstan next month. According to Reuters, a senior Russian Orthodox official Read more
Pope Francis met Bishop Anthony, the second most influential leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, on Friday ahead of an expected summit next month with its Patriarch Kirill, who supports the war in Ukraine. It was their first meeting since Anthony’s predecessor, Hilarion, was ousted in June in an abrupt decision indicating discord at the Read more
Russia’s brutal military attack on Ukraine continues. And with each passing day Pope Francis appears more and more frustrated that he and his Vatican aides can do nothing to stop it. No doubt, they are even more irritated that their continuous offers to mediate or facilitate discussions between the two countries, which the Cardinal Secretary Read more
Archbishop of Wellington Cardinal John Dew says Pope Francis is deeply concerned about the invasion being justified as a holy war. In recent weeks, the Russia’s Patriarch Kirill has used religious language to justify his support for Russia’s military aggression. Even Kirill’s own supporters are looking elsewhere, says Dew. “The invasion has created new ecumenical Read more
Caught up in the escalation, will Vladimir Putin dare to resort to nuclear strikes? If he gives in to this ultimate vertigo, he will not fail to invoke Seraphim of Sarov, the Slavic Francis of Assisi whom Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow, consecrated as patron saint of Russia’s nuclear arsenal. A controversial characteristic? The two potentates Read more
“May the Lord preserve the Russian land… A land which now includes Russia and Ukraine and Belarus and other tribes and peoples.” A Sunday sermon with very political overtones. It was delivered on February 27 at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The 75-year-old Read more