Demands to put Patriarch Kirill and his inner circle on the international sanctions list
Ukrainian activists demand that the “Russian World” ideologists led by Patriarch Kirill are sanctioned
RISU (07.04.2022) – https://bit.ly/3v4M7VM – An action group of representatives of Ukrainian public and scientific institutions, representatives of media and business put forward the initiative to appeal to the governments of the United States, Great Britain, Japan, China, European Union member states, church and public activists who cooperate with the Moscow Patriarchate, with a request to facilitate putting Moscow Patriarch Kirill and his inner circle, who is directly involved in the development and promotion of the ideology of the Russian World, on the international sanctions list.
In particular, we are referring to
- Head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Patriarchal Vicar, Metropolitan Hilarion (Gregory Alfeyev);
- permanent member of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Primate of the UOC-MP Metropolitan Onufriy (Orest Berezovsky);
- permanent member of the Synod of the UOC-MP, Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail (Oleksiy Savvin);
- permanent member of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarchal Exarch of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Veniamin (Vitaly Tupeko).
“The impetus for this appeal was the fact that the role that the hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate has played and still plays in justifying and justifying the military aggression of the Russian political leadership (Transdniestria, Georgia, Ukraine) remains out of the attention of the international community,” the initiators of the appeal say. “After all, it is the Moscow Patriarchate and personally the current Patriarch Kirill who are the developers and long-term advocates of the Russian World ideology. This ideology has become an effective means of instilling in Russian society the idea of superiority and exclusivity of Russian culture, language, and Moscow Orthodoxy.”
This teaching condemned by the world-famous theologians because it is essentially a neo-imperial geopolitical and ideological doctrine that asserts Russian messianism and imperialism. Therefore, this latest heresy promotes Orthodox ethnophyletic fundamentalism (the superiority of the ethnic over the religious), totalitarianism and chauvinism. Ideology is used as an excuse for Russia’s invasion of the territory of other states in order to restore the former Soviet Union.
In fact, the teaching is the current social and political doctrine of Russia and proclaims that there is a certain super – National Russian-speaking space or a separate civilization “Holy Rus” with a political center in Moscow, a common Russian language and a common Church – the Moscow Patriarchate. Its political leader is Putin, and its spiritual leader is Patriarch Kirill.
Such chauvinistic nationalist attitudes do not leave other peoples the right to their own language, culture, religion, or declare the latter to be less valuable, not worthy of development, prospects. A natural consequence of the Russian World policy is the gradual elimination of national languages, cultures, and those Orthodox communities that were not part of the Moscow Patriarchate in the territories occupied by Russia. Cases of harassment and persecution of religious leaders of non-Orthodox faiths who did not support the policy of the political leadership of the Russian Federation are also systemic.
“There are not isolated cases of open or covert cooperation between clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine and Belarus with the occupying Russian troops. Sometimes such cooperation goes beyond not only religious canons, but also common sense or human morality,” the initiators of the appeal note. “The chauvinistic Russian World has been and is being promoted with the help of Orthodox clergy. In war context, this poses a significant threat not only to the national security of Ukraine, but also to the world as a whole.”
Full text of the appeal and signatories HERE
Photo: RISU