Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow has banned a priest from conducting worship services. The priest is said to have replaced the word “victory” with “peace” in the prescribed prayer. “The Russian Orthodox Church has always had close ties to Putin’s regime,” says Russia correspondent Joost Bosman.
‘They choose each other’s point of view, they support each other in this. This actually comes from tsarist Russia where the tsar was the head of the church. After seventy years of communism, that one has just returned under Putin’.
KGB informant
According to Bosman, Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, commissioned an investigation into Kirill’s dealings in the early 1990s and concluded that he was probably working as an informer for the KGB. “Last Sunday, Swiss newspapers revealed that Kirill was sitting as a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. There Kirill had to do something about the objection of the West to the lack of religious freedom in the Soviet Union. He had to do something about it.’
Kirill has a lot of influence, says Bosman. “Two-thirds of Russians call themselves Orthodox and this has to do with identity. You are Russian and Orthodox. Kirill has influence over the Russians.”
Follow developments in Ukraine here on our live blog
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
