Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin commanded the nation’s first mobilisation since World War Two, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church declared that Russian soldiers who die in the conflict with Ukraine will be absolved of all their sins.
A crucial Putin friend and supporter of the invasion is patriarch Kirill. In the past, he has criticised war opponents and exhorted Russians to unite behind the Kremlin.
In his first Sunday talk since the mobilisation order, Kirill, 75, said: ‘Many are dying on the fields of internecine strife.’ In order to prevent as many brothers from killing one another in this fratricidal war, the Church prays that this conflict will be resolved as quickly as possible.
The Church is aware that if someone dies while carrying out a duty that they feel is required of them out of a sense of duty and the need to fulfil their pledge, they have surely undertaken an act that is equal to sacrifice. They will have made the ultimate sacrifice for others. Therefore, we consider that this offering atones for all of a person’s sins.
In a mobilisation push that has inflamed popular outrage, caused an exodus of males of military age, and sparked protests all over the nation, Russia claims it is calling up over 300,000 extra troops to fight in Ukraine.
The divide between the Russian branch of the Orthodox Church and other branches of Orthodoxy around the world has widened as a result of Kirill’s support for the war in Ukraine. In a number of public speeches, including one earlier this month in which he asserted that God opposes violence, Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, appeared to criticise Kirill’s stance.
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