“We do not want to fight against anyone. Russia has never attacked anyone,” said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in his sermon yesterday, continuing his steadfast support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused the deaths of innocent Ukrainian Orthodox civilians.
In his sermon, on May 3, the Patriarch of Moscow asked the faithful to pray “for the Russian state, for our country, so that our sacred borders may be impregnable, so that we may always have enough wisdom, strength, and honor to protect them if necessary.”
He added: “We do not want to fight against anyone. Russia has never attacked anyone. It is amazing that a big and powerful country never attacked anyone – only defended its borders. May God grant that by the end of the century, our country will be like this – strong, powerful and at the same time have God’s love.”
A few weeks ago, Patriarch Kirill called on the Russians to rally around the authorities as Moscow continues its military intervention in Ukraine.
“May the Lord help us to unite these difficult times for our country, and around the authorities,” said 75-year-old Kirill during a service in Moscow, as reported by the Interfax news agency.
Kirill said that if the population rallies around the authorities “there will be genuine solidarity and the ability to repel enemies, external and internal…”
Earlier, he called on Russian soldiers to defend their country “as only Russians can”. In his sermon at the time, he even stated that “Russia was a peace-loving country, which had suffered a lot from the war.”
And he continued his sermon by saying: “Under no circumstances do we seek war or anything that could harm others.
But we have grown up through all of our history to love our country. And we will be ready to defend it, just as only the Russians can.”
And of course, we all remember the icon that the Patriarch of Moscow gifted to the leader of the Russian militia to give “a quick victory” over the Ukrainians.
