Christians working in Eastern Europe have reacted with shock and horror to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s recent Easter sermon.
The Institute for War (ISW), a not-for-profit thinktank, has highlighted how he used it to support Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
In his sermon, Kirill said Russia is currently going through ‘difficult’ and ‘fateful’ trials. He called on his listeners to pray for Russian authorities and the Russian military and hoped God would bring about an end to what he described as the ‘internecine’ war in Ukraine. Putin, who attended the service, thanked Patriarch Kirill for his ‘fruitful collaboration’ during the ‘current difficult period’. He also claimed that the Orthodox Church and ‘other Christian denominations’ are preserving Russian heritage and societal values.
