Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon Sunday in which he referred to the war in Ukraine as a "metaphysical" struggle against a godless international order.
He argued that war broke out after eight years of "attempts to destroy what exists in the Donbas," because the pro-Russian separatist republics embodied "a fundamental rejection of the so-called values that are offered today by those who claim world power." Kirill did not mention that a majority of Ukrainians are also Orthodox.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a ban on gay "propaganda," a term that included pride parades and exposing minors to information about homosexuality. Gay sex remains decriminalized in Russia.
Putin frequently accuses the West of "denying moral principles and all traditional identities" while portraying Russia as the guardian of "the Christian values that constitute the basis of Western civilization."
Only around 6 percent of Russians attend church regularly. Russia also has the highest abortion rate in the world.
Kirill, a strong supporter of Putin, urged his flock on Sunday not to "put up with … those who promote sin" — specifically homosexuality — "as an example or as one of the models of human behavior."
He also said Orthodox Christians who oppose the war are "humbly follow[ing] the path that the powers that be show them."
Kirill delivered this sermon on Forgiveness Sunday, a day on which Orthodox Christians prepare for the penitential season of Lent and ask forgiveness of one another.
-
6 homes with fall foliagefeature An autumnal orange Craftsman, a renovated Greek Revival church and an estate with an orchard
-
Musk wins $1 trillion Tesla pay packageSpeed Read The package would expand his stake in the company to 25%
-
Political cartoons for November 7Cartoons Friday’s political cartoons include a party at Mar-a-Lago, a handy chart for ICE, the Republican train wreck and Nancy Pelosi's retirement
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Push for Ukraine ceasefire collapsesFeature Talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were called off after the Russian president refused to compromise on his demands
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
