GOOD BUSES: Patriarch Kirill and President Vladimir Putin. Photo: MIKHAIL METZEL/KREMLIN / POOL / EPA / NTB
Vladimir Putin (71) has given Patriarch Kirill (76) this year’s presidential award. The patriarch says that those who fall for Russia in the war will go to heaven. – Has actively contributed to the war effort, says an expert to VG.
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Vladimir Putin gives this year’s presidential award to Patriarch Kirill (76). Kirill says that those who fall for Russia in the war will go to heaven. The patriarch supports the war and contributes to Putin’s legitimacy as president. Ukrainian authorities have opened criminal proceedings against the patriarch. Kirill is considered one of Putin’s most important ally in the war. Show more At the same time, the Ukrainian authorities have instituted criminal proceedings against the patriarch. The accusation: He does not accept Ukraine’s borders, he has justified armed aggression and he has incited violence. From the Kremlin, however, the patriarch is being honored with this year’s presidential award.
– Kirill is not only a defender of Putin’s war, but has long been a source of Putin’s legitimacy. Often what has strong popular support can be considered legitimate, although this will not always be the case. (snl.no). as president, writes the independent Russian media Novaya Gazeta.
Emil Saggu, expert on Orthodox churches and researcher at Lund University, tells VG like this:
– The patriarch has proven to be one of the Putin regime’s most important supporters throughout the war, because the Russian church explicitlyexplicitExplicit means direct, clearly and clearly formulated. (snl.no). has legitimized the war religiously.
– The Russian patriarch and several of his high-ranking priests have actively contributed to the war effort by, among other things, referring to serving as a soldier as a necessary duty and a moral calling.
The expert continues:
– This is without a doubt an attempt to secure support for the war from the population, who especially listens to the church and better morale among Russian soldiers.
IN THE PARLIAMENT: Patriarch Kirill in a meeting with the leader of the parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin (right) and the leader of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky (right). Photo: AP / NTB
– The patriarch just as well appointed Putin as a kind of “inquisitor”, whose task was to clean out Ukraine. The Putin regime thus has strong and important support in the church – and Putin would certainly like to keep it, says Emil Saggau.
Kirill spoke early in support of the war. In a service, Kirill asked God to preserve the Russian Empire, “a country that now includes Russia, Ukraine and Belarus,” he said. The patriarch has also stated that Ukraine consists of “evil forces”. Kirill has also believed that the war is a fight against “immoral Western values”.
In the justification for giving the presidential prize for 2023 to Kirill, it was stated, among other things, that he had “contributed to strengthening the unity of the Russian nation”.
– Kirill is a champion of a special “theology of war”, which boils down to two main arguments, writes Novaja Gazeta – and explains:
First, a stronger nation has the right to submit to a weaker one that does not voluntarily submit. Second, entry into heaven is guaranteed to all who give their lives to bring about this submission.
He has said that to sacrifice himself in the war “washes away all sins”.
Patriarch Kirill is usually present during the military parade on Red Square on May 9. Bottom right, the head of foreign intelligence, Sergej Naryshkin. Behind him (in uniform) sits the Attorney General, Igor Krasnov. Photo: Gavriil Grigorov / AP / NTB
Caroline Hill, a researcher at Uppsala University, says that the patriarch’s statements are not welcome in all parts of the Russian Orthodox Church.
– My observation is that a significant proportion of both clergy and parishioners are against the war and worried about certain clergy’s support for it, she says to VG.
– There is also a significant fear among both clergy and parishioners to speak out – because of the new law that means you risk prison if you speak out against the war, or even call the war “war”, unlike “special operation”.
– Then we will see after the war whether it is still the “hawks” who rule – or whether the “doves” – who today largely keep their mouths shut – have taken over the governance of the church in Russia.
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Published: 21.11.23 at 00:59
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2023-11-21 00:00:04
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