Thread by @Favillez

1) A lot of very interesting quotes by Patriarch Kirill over the past two weeks.
Find the relevant ones here: actualidadereligiosa.blogspot.com/2022/02/war-in…
Main excerpts follow

2) On 19/1 he preeched a sermon in which he explained that "crazy people" thought Russia could be defeated, and that is why there is a war and the world is in danger.
Allusions to "dark forces", always mysterious, never named, are a constant. Calling them "crazy people" is new.

3) "Some crazy people had the idea that the great Russian power, which has powerful weapons, is inhabited by very strong people who have always been motivated to win, who have never surrendered to any enemy, who have always come out victorious - can be defeated or reformatted"

4) Should these nutters be successful, it will mean nothing short of the end of the world. "We pray to the Lord that He will enlighten those madmen and help them understand that any desire to destroy Russia will mean the end of the world". Nuclear threat? Make of it what you will

5) There was a very peculiar sermon on 22/1. Kirill spoke of St. Philip, who defied the Czar and was duly punished for this. However, his conclusion is that this proves that the Church should not meddle in state affairs. Seriously... I had to reread it to make sure.

6) As this did not directly pertain to the Ukraine conflict I didn't include these parts, but you can check them for yourself here: patriarchia.ru/db/text/599817…

7) On 25/1, during a speach, he lashed out at Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. "For several years now, external forces have been using the Patriarchate of Constantinople for their political purposes. His position is very vulnerable, since the center is in Turkey, in the

8) territory controlled by the non-Orthodox authorities, and the main dioceses and sources of income are in the United States and Western Europe. It is quite obvious that these factors deprive the Patriarchate of Constantinople of freedom, and therefore it is through it that they

9) try to split the ROC today by legalizing the newly created schismatic structure in Ukraine. (...) Here is a very good indicator: if a certain hierarch defends a schism, then this person is not free, he is controlled by other forces."

10) On 26/1 he made a sort of a "state of the Union" address to Parliament. This went into great detail about the war, which is attributed to "external forces interested in the enmity of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples".

11) He calls on humane treatment of prisoners, saying he has info that RU POWs are mistreated. "The fight against the enemy must not turn into hatred of the individual and be accompanied by incredible cruelty, as we know from the treatment of our pows on the other side".

12) He criticises Kiev and Constantinople for the persecution of the Ukrainian Orth. Church loyal to Moscow, but also, again, alludes to the "architects of world conflicts, who are not interested in our peoples living in prosperity and peace".

13) The persecution of the UOC-MP, he says, can be compared to what used to happen in the Soviet Union. "All this can be regarded as part of a global external order for the destruction of canonical Orthodoxy within a single country - Ukraine."

14) Interestingly, he refers to Russians who fled mobilization, seeming to plead their case, but saying that it is weakness, caused by decadent Western values, that drove them out. "Some are surprised by the mass departure. But should this surprise us? After all, for many years

15) among the younger generation, false values imported from outside were implanted and approved, perceived completely uncritically."

Finally, he speaks about Military Chaplains, lauding their bravery and service, but also saying that they are a favourite target for snipers.

16) "I emphasize once again that the priest is the most desirable target of the enemy, snipers first of all aim at the priests."

And today he spoke during a celebration on the anniversary of his enthronement, claiming that the ROC is more free under Putin than at any other time.

17) "To put it bluntly, this is the first time in the long history of the ROC. Because even in the Orthodox Empire the Church was not simply influenced by the State, but had to listen carefully to what the State had to say. Often it was necessary to deviate from its pastoral

18) principles, following instructions from on high, which may be why the great tragedy of the persecution of the Church occurred, after the change of the state system in Russia."

He commends the efforts "for our country to continue on that truly independent of the centres of

19) world power, which it is courageously pursuing".

And at the end of the speach, all hail Putin!
"May the blessing of God rest on the President of the RF VV Putin, who courageously defends the true sovereignty of our country"

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