Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol at the opening of the conference “Sacred War: Transformation of Russia”
RUSSIA: Russian Orthodox Church Conference “The war on Ukraine is a Sacred War”
The Russian Orthodox Church stressed that thanks to their work with the “Special Military Operation” soldiers in the “trenches” no longer shy away from Christian symbols.
By Willy Fautré, director of Human Rights Without Frontiers
HRWF (29.01.2024) – The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), together with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, has recently held a conference titled “Sacred War: Transformation of Russia”, dedicated to Russia’s war on Ukraine, reports the Telegram channel of the Military Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“The forum brought together participants from all regions of Russia, including different generations of defenders of the Motherland, from veterans of the Great Patriotic War to participants in the Special Military Operation.
The event, which took place on 25 January at the Central House of the Russian Army, was led by Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol. He said in his speech that “The Church has always been, is and will be with its people, with its army. To date, 707 priests of the Russian Orthodox Church have made out more than 2,000 trips to the zone of the Special Military Operation.”
While chaplains in democratic countries provide spiritual and psychological assistance to soldiers and conscripts, the Russian priests on the front have nothing to do with chaplaincy. The objective of their presence is to support troop morale so that Russia can win its Holy War against Ukraine
According to Metropolitan Kirill of Stavropol, Chairman of the Synodal Department, soldiers “reveal their best qualities”after communicating with clerics and some in the trenches even “no longer shy away from Christian symbols” Holy War obliges.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu sent a greeting to the conference participants, saying that in Ukraine Russian soldiers are standing “on guard of our Fatherland” and “courageously fulfilling their military duty”.
“God will save the world through Putin”
According to Archbishop Pitirim of Syktyvkar Eparchy, God will save the world through Putin as he said in a video:
THERE IS NO BETTER PRESIDENT
God saved my dear homeland,
When the hour of the country burned out,
Borisov’s wormhole,
The wolves’ surroundings were removed.
And there was no better than Vladimir,
Another would sell Russia.
He tramples the dragon confidently
And the aspids are beating.
Through Vladimir Putin
Our Savior will save the whole world.
Holy Russia would have been destroyed,
But it won’t fall with the Chosen One.
Archbishop Pitirim is under Ukrainian sanctions for propaganda and support for the war against Ukraine.
Further reading about FORB in Russia on HRWF website