MOSCOW: Russia’s religious chief, Patriarch Kirill, on Thursday referred to as for a ceasefire in Ukraine on Orthodox Christmas, celebrated this week by each international locations.
The 76-year-old Orthodox chief is a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin and his offensive in Ukraine.
He has given his blessing to Russian troops combating in Ukraine and delivered closely anti-Western and anti-Kyiv sermons all through the battle.
“I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and of all Rus, attraction to all events concerned within the internecine battle with a name to stop hearth and set up a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 00:00 on January 7 in order that Orthodox individuals can attend providers on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ,” he stated on the church’s official web site.
The Russian Orthodox Church has misplaced appreciable affect in Ukraine since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and combating in japanese Ukraine in 2014.
In 2019, a part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke ties with Moscow — which has had religious dominance in a lot of Ukraine for hundreds of years — in a historic schism.
The Kremlin’s resolution to ship troops into Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in lots of clerics who had continued to stay loyal to Kirill turning away from Moscow.
In Could, the Moscow-backed department of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church severed ties with Russia, citing Patriarch Kirill’s lack of condemnation of the combating.
Patriarch Kirill has been sanctioned by Britain and Canada for his outspoken backing of Putin’s Ukraine offensive.
The 76-year-old Orthodox chief is a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin and his offensive in Ukraine.
He has given his blessing to Russian troops combating in Ukraine and delivered closely anti-Western and anti-Kyiv sermons all through the battle.
“I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and of all Rus, attraction to all events concerned within the internecine battle with a name to stop hearth and set up a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 to 00:00 on January 7 in order that Orthodox individuals can attend providers on Christmas Eve and on the day of the Nativity of Christ,” he stated on the church’s official web site.
The Russian Orthodox Church has misplaced appreciable affect in Ukraine since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and combating in japanese Ukraine in 2014.
In 2019, a part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church broke ties with Moscow — which has had religious dominance in a lot of Ukraine for hundreds of years — in a historic schism.
The Kremlin’s resolution to ship troops into Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in lots of clerics who had continued to stay loyal to Kirill turning away from Moscow.
In Could, the Moscow-backed department of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church severed ties with Russia, citing Patriarch Kirill’s lack of condemnation of the combating.
Patriarch Kirill has been sanctioned by Britain and Canada for his outspoken backing of Putin’s Ukraine offensive.
