Speaking about the situation in Ukraine, Patriarch Kirill spoke out about the precarious state of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, on the festival of Christmas, Rossiya 1 Channel broadcast the traditional Christmas Interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of Dmitry Kiselyov, journalist and TV-host, General Director of the Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency.
Christmas Interview with His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill
Christmas Interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill
- We'll get back to lust and love. Now I'd like to continue to explore the events in Ukraine. As it seems, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now under a crossfire. From one direction, it's under attack by the Ukrainian authorities, and from another direction, the Istanbul Patriarch's office. What's the future of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church? What help does it need?
- Well, getting ahead of it, I'll say that the future will eventually turn out well. As the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is on the side of the light, on the side of the truth, God's truth. All of the forces attacking the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are on the side of darkness. It's easy to prove.
Say, the so-called Unification Council took place. According to the puppeteers and according to the president of Ukraine, this council was to unite everyone, creating a common Orthodox Church for all of Ukraine. But what did they get? What they got is just a union of two schismatic groups, while the Orthodox Church remained as it was, a blessed spiritual body.
What else is significant about this story? Unprecedented intervention by the authorities. Ukraine is said to be a country aspiring to join Europe, a country that says it shares European values. One of the most important values in Europe is the separation of church and state, the non-religious nature of the state. And what do we see? We see the president of Ukraine as the chairman of the Church Council, who determines the head of the local church, who flagrantly interferes with church life without hesitating to do so publicly. So, eventually, all of it just turns into a theater of the absurd. Can you imagine the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, being the chairman of the Church Council? Giving direct orders concerning who is to be elected, and further on, presenting the elected patriarch to the public. It's hard to imagine.
- Impossible!
- Impossible! Can we imagine what reaction would follow from the international community? The stir among all of the defenders of rights and even all of the states. It would be a storm of criticism, devastating criticism. Right?
- But right now they're shut up like a clam.
- Hey, Europe, where are you?
- Yes.
- Hey, USA, where are you? Where is your willingness to protect fundamental liberal principles, including the separation of church and state?
- The independence of the church.
- The independence of the church. This story tells us that everything can be overridden. They can defy any principles if they are after certain political goals. To this extent, the political order concerning the destruction of Orthodoxy in Ukraine is absolutely evident.
