Patriarch Kirill, head of the Moscow Patriarchate or the Russian Orthodox Church on September 25 said that sacrifice in the course of carrying out military duty against Ukraine would help the Russian soldiers wash away all their sins. This is days after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the country’s first mobilization since World War II.
According to the reports, the patriarch said the remarks during his Sunday sermon on September 25. “We know that many today are dying in the fields of internecine battle. The church is praying that this battle will end as soon as possible, that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war”, Kirill said who has been a prominent supporter of President Vladimir Putin.
“At the same time, the Church realizes that if somebody, driven by a sense of duty and the need to fulfil their oath … goes to do what their duty calls of them and if a person dies in the performance of this duty, then they have undoubtedly committed an act equivalent to sacrifice. They will have sacrificed themselves for others. And therefore, we believe that this sacrifice washes away all the sins that a person has committed”, the head was quoted.
Notably, Patriarch Kirill’s remarks came in the midst of countrywide protests and mounting criticism over the Kremlin’s recent declaration of a partial mobilization to replenish Russian military fighting in Ukraine. Kirill had earlier blessed the war efforts and had claimed that Russians were doing a heroic deed by killing Ukrainians.
Putin announced the military mobilization on September 21. Kirill then claimed that unidentified forces were trying to turn Ukrainians from being part of Russia. “Danger looms over the Ukrainian people”, he had said. According to Western sources, Russia has sustained 70,000 to 80,000 casualties since its February invasion of Ukraine.
According to Russian officials, the draft would focus on reservists and will add 300,000 troops to the war effort. However, Russian media has reported that the true aim is one million additional troops. Reports mention that the recruitment of men having combat training and are above the draft age has sparked condemnation even from pro-Kremlin voices.
