The message “Thanks to the Orthodox Church for helping us in the military operation” was released.
Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates ‘independent’ Christmas amid fury… Some switch to December 25
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting the war against Ukraine on the occasion of the Orthodox Christmas on the 7th (local time).
Instead of attending public celebrations, Putin announced the Christmas message after attending a midnight service that began on Christmas Eve in a church inside the Kremlin Palace, the presidential residence, according to Reuters and The Wall Street Journal ( WSJ).
“I am very pleased with the extremely constructive contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian sects to unite society, preserve our historical memory, educate young people and strengthen the family institution,” he said in the message.
“Church organizations prioritize the support of our fighters in special military operations in Ukraine,” he said.
Christmas is usually on December 25, but some countries that believe in the Orthodox Church, such as Russia and Ukraine, have celebrated a later date such as Christmas on January 7 every year.
Prior to this, on the 6th, President Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire to celebrate Christmas, but Ukraine refused, saying it was just a ploy by Moscow to buy time and regroup.
Indeed, even after President Putin declared a ceasefire, both sides continued to bomb.
It analyzes that President Putin reaffirms his reliance on the Orthodox Church as the basis for Russian social stability and national unity in harsh wartime.
The WSJ notably noted that it was the first Orthodox Christmas since President Putin launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine as a “crusade” against the “corrupt West”.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, insisted in an interview on state television that believers should see the war as a holy struggle against the West to preserve the “Russian world” and keep the Slavic lands under spiritual and political guide of Moscow.
In a video broadcast on TV, President Putin, who was present at the ceremony, also made the sign of the cross several times.
Even in Ukraine, believers have gathered in churches to celebrate Orthodox Christmas.
However, many Ukrainian Orthodox Christians are outraged by the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for the invasion of Ukraine and have switched to December 25, which is celebrated by most other Christians instead of January 7.
There are 260 million Orthodox believers in the world, 100 million Russians and about 30 million Ukrainians.
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is divided into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate and the Independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church was recognized by the Constantinople Patriarchate in 2019, but is not accepted by the Moscow Archdiocese.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, especially after the Russian invasion, does not include Russian Patriarch Kirill in the list of fraternal leaders in public worship and uses its holy oil without receiving it from Moscow.
On the 6th, during a function, Russian patriarch Kirill accused the Ukrainian government of suppressing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long been linked to Moscow.
Patriarch Epiphanius, head of the Independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, officiated a service in front of a large crowd of faithful at the Kyiu Cave Monastery, one of the most important holy places of the Orthodox Church.
The Associated Press reported that the Christmas service was conducted in Ukrainian for the first time in 31 years since Ukraine’s independence, and among the believers singing Christmas carols were Ukrainian soldiers in military uniform.
Patriarch Epiphanius said, “As a nation, we have tried to live in peace with the understanding of all our neighbors, but the enemy, meanly, has broken the peace and invaded our land.”, he criticized.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Christmas message released late on the night of 6 that the Ukrainian army “is fighting to defeat the beast without falling prey”.
/yunhap news
