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Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Friday placed the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, a backer of the Kremlin's 21-month-old war against Kyiv, on a wanted list after security services accused him of abetting the conflict. A post on the Ukrainian ministry's wanted list identified Kirill by name, showed him in his clerical robes and described him as "an individual in hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation". It said he had been "missing" since November 11. Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith in Ukraine and authorities in Kyiv have launched criminal cases against clergy linked to a branch of the Orthodox...

Patriarch Kirill commends and thanks the volunteers for their selfless service.The Common Cause Project is a collection of volunteers who are dedicated to preserving the Russian spiritual tradition in the North of Russia by means of restoring and renovating wooden churches in Russia’s North, many of which have fallen into disrepair or ruin due to decades of enforced neglect or outright attack under communism. Since 2006, however, stalwart volunteers each year trek into the inaccessible North in order to restore and save these spiritual treasures from destruction. Often when they are finished with the renovations, they turn the temples over...

The Patriarchs of Moscow and Constantinople spoke about one another’s Churches this week, exchanging views about the poor state of inter-Orthodox relations and the geopolitical influence in the Church. Yesterday, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia gave a presentation in the State Kremlin Palace as part of the 21st International Christmas Educational Readings, on the theme of “Global Challenges of Modernity and Human Spiritual Choice.”Among a number of other topics, the Patriarch tied the poor state of inter-Orthodox relations today to the creation and partial recognition of the schismatic “Orthodox Church of Ukraine.”According to the Russian primate,...

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, warned NATO on Thursday that the defeat of Russia in Ukraine could trigger a nuclear war. Striking a similar tone at what he described as an anxious time for the country, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said trying to destroy Russia would mean the end of the world. -snip- Asked if Medvedev's remarks signified that Russia was escalating the crisis to a new level, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No, it absolutely does not mean that." -snip- Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church,...

KYIV, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Ukraine's SBU security service and police raided a 1,000-year-old Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv early on Tuesday as part of operations to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services". The sprawling Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex - or Kyiv Monastery of the Caves - is a Ukrainian cultural treasure and the headquarters of the Russian-backed wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that falls under the Moscow Patriarchate.

Moscow, November 21, Interfax - Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia believes that the prospects of world civilization depend on Russia. "The future of the world depends in the full sense of the word on the future of our Fatherland, our people, our Church, because today our Motherland defends those values that put a barrier to apostasy, that is, the movement towards the end of time under the rule of the antichrist," the patriarch told the audience at a reception in the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the occasion of the primate's birthday. "Remembering what the word of God...

Calling for Patriarch Kirill's resignation, Patriarch Bartholomew has accused the Russian Church head of supporting the alleged "political crimes" of the Moscow government. According to a recent report, he said it would be better to resign than to support the war. He urged Patriarch Kirill to "separate himself" from Moscow authorities, "even if this means stepping down from the episcopal throne." Meanwhile, many clergy in Ukraine have openly condemned Patriarch Bartholomew's attack on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over the past several years, noting that his divisive actions have contributed in part to the current hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. Metropolitan...

St. Peter of Kiev and Moscow was at the helm of the Russian Orthodox Church in the most painful historical moment, early in the 14th century, when our land was trampled underfoot and pillaged by the Mongol nomads. Capital city of Kiev was in ashes, and the ruling Metropolitan moved his See to a small and modest town of Moscow. From that time on, the Principality of Moscow began to gain power and eventually led the whole country to freedom and independence, from a set of scattered rural tribes to nationhood. On September 6, when the Church observes the memory...

Regular session of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Moscow on August 25, presided by Patriarch Kirill. "We are meeting at a time when, as you know, all is not quiet in the expanses of Holy Russia. Many people are suffering today, really suffering, but this suffering did not begin now, as some claim, but has continued for the past eight years," said the Patriarch Kirill in his opening address. - A great many people in Donbass have indeed been subjected to tremendous distress. And wherever justice is violated, there is always resistance to injustice, and...

"The Church keeps people from losing their reference points in life. But it is also all pious people of all times and all nations. It is the Orthodox faith, which lives and works in the Orthodox Church, that is the force that holds [the Antichrist] back. . ."His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia spoke out about anti-Russian sentiments in the world, recalling the last book of the New Testament (Revelations). It refers to the power that restrains the coming of the Antichrist into the world. Such a force was the Orthodox faith and pious people of all...

ROME – In new comments to Italian media, the Vatican’s Secretary of State has said recent remarks by Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill will only make tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war worse, and said a second meeting with the pope is unlikely. Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin also spoke of his recent phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, saying the conversation proved to be unhelpful. Speaking to Italian media at the close of an event called Sui Tetti, or “On the Rooftops,” March 9, Parolin said “Kirill’s words do not favor and do not promote an understanding.” “On the contrary,...

Baku, November 14, Interfax - Secularism is the reason why Europe is losing its Christian identity, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said. "Supporters of the secular idea believe that giving up religion will be good for all people [...] Along with religion, they deny traditional moral values such as marriage as a union between a man and a woman and the inviolability of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. Those who find the courage to publicly criticize unnatural moral permissiveness are accused by adherents of the secular idea of intolerance. We take close to...

How Often Did Francis Mention Communism? Not Once During his final day in Romania, Pope Francis beatified in Blaj seven Greek-Catholic bishops (picture) murdered by the Romanian Communists (1947-1989). Marco Tosatti noticed that during the liturgy Francis succeeded in pronouncing the word “Communism” not even once. According to Francis the seven gave their lives to oppose an "illiberal ideological system." In reality they died because they resisted Communist plans to integrate the Greek Catholic Church into the Orthodox. #newsQcjviqjxrb

It's one thing to read about schisms in the Church in history-books. Watching the brisk steps being taken toward it in your own time is something else entirely. For years, stubbornness has been in control of the situation. Voices of caution are raised, but no one wants to listen. Theology is transformed into points of view or, you could say, into arguments justifying the slow crawl towards the abyss of schism. We have witnessed a solid engineering to create an Orthodox papal ideology and sabotage true conciliarity. We have experienced the disavowal and destruction of all the rules that guided...

“Today, Russia ranks among the worst violators of religious freedom and human rights,” Ambassador Callista Gingrich said during a roundtable discussion on Ukraine held at the US embassy in Rome. “There is no sign that its persecution of religious minorities and foreign missionaries is coming to an end.” “Russia routinely conducts sham trials to persecute Ukrainians,” she explained. “Religious freedom also remains heavily constricted in areas of Ukraine under Russian occupation and control." The ambassador is married to former House of Representatives Speaker, Newt Gingrich, an adviser and ally of the president, who has repeatedly stressed there is no evidence...

The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Filaret, has said the Ukrainian church will never go back under the control of the Moscow Patriarchate. "First of all, I want to tell the Moscow patriarch and the Russian bishops that the Ukrainian church will never go back to the Moscow Patriarchate. Why is that? Because we have our own state. Don't you see how deceptive Moscow is? One cannot trust them." Filaret told journalists in Kyiv on December 1 that the Russian Orthodox Church was "deceptive" on November 30 when it said he had written a letter to Russian Patriarch...

Don't be fooled by outward appearances. The Russians are mighty clever when it comes to sophisticated acts of deception. The KGB and its successor the FSB were/are notorious for it. From the Russian Orthodox Church's website... WCC welcomes meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill for unity and peace 12 February 2016 Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has issued a statement on behalf of the Council hailing the historic meeting of Pope Francis, pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.The two leaders...

LADIVOSTOK, November 20. /TASS/. Orthodoxy has been playing a major role in Russia’s life throughout the entire history of Russia, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that Orthodoxy and Russia are inseparable, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in the film Patriarch shown on the Rossiya-1 television channel on Sunday to mark the 70th birth anniversary of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. "Orthodoxy and Russia are inseparable. And throughout our entire history, Orthodoxy has been playing a major role in the life of our state and our nation," the president said. "Our moral values rest on...

London, October 18, Interfax - The war on terrorism is a sacred war, and must be a common cause of all countries, not just Russia, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia told a press conference at London's Luton Airport after his visit to the United Kingdom. "I regret that my words were misread. I never spoke about a sacred war in Syria, I spoke about a sacred war on terrorism. I think very many victims of terrorism in Europe could subscribe to these words. Suffice to recall all that happened comparatively recently in France, in Belgium," the patriarch said,...

Patriarch Kirill is overheard telling the Pope: 'Things are easier now' At long last, Pope Francis and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow have embraced, kissing each other three times.“Finally,” the Pope told the Patriarch as they met in a lounge at Havana’s José Martí International Airport . “We are brothers,” he told the Patriarch.Amid the clicking of cameras and multiple flashes, Patriarch Kirill was overheard telling the Pope, “Things are easier now.”“It is clearer that this is God’s will,” Pope Francis told him.A flight of almost 12 hours capped months of intense negotiations and more than two decades of...