(Reuters) – The head of Russia’s effective Orthodox Church stated in statements released late on Tuesday that “weirdos” were attempting to spread out paganism in the battle zone in Ukraine and required initiatives to respond to efforts to compromise the church’s impact there.
Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has actually been a passionate backer of Russia’s intrusion of Ukraine, in which hundreds of individuals have actually been eliminated and millions much more driven from their homes.
“I would like to draw the attention of priests who visit the combat zone to the emergence of neo-pagan sentiments among some military personnel,” Kirill stated in an address to clergy, according to a records supplied on the site of the Moscow Patriarchate.
“Who would have thought that in the 21st century ‘weirdos’ would appear on the territory of Holy Rus who would revive paganism?”
Holy Rus is an antiquated name forRussia Kyiv and its Western allies call the battle, which will certainly note its 3rd wedding anniversary on February 24, an unwarranted imperialistic land grab.
The Kremlin calls the intrusion a “special military operation” to”denazify” Ukraine Kirill sees it as an encounter a Western liberal society he thinks about decadent, particularly in its approval of homosexuality.
The clergy, that see efforts to restore paganism in the battle zone, Kirill stated, “should show special initiative in order to completely prevent the influence of neo-paganism on the consciousness of military personnel.”
“The forces opposing Russia have engineered the conflict in Ukraine, intending to use it to weaken our country and the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church,” Kirill stated without pointing out proof.
He did not specify on what type of paganism was supposedly showing up on the frontlines.
Moscow has usually stated it was pushed into the dispute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov prompted giggling in 2023 at a worldwide polite discussion forum for describing Moscow’s intrusion as “the war which was launched against us.”
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates)
