ROC Patriarch: I believe the Church of Holy Rus' will be reunited again

Patriarch Kirill believes that the existence of the Church depends on the independence of the country. Photo: patriarchy ru

On July 18, 2023, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church, at a sermon on the occasion of Remembrance Day of St. Sergius of Radonezh, stated that the existence of the Church depends on the independence of the country, and expressed the hope that over time the Church of Holy Rus' would be reunited again. The sermon of Patriarch Kirill was published on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Commenting on the current state of the Russian Church, the patriarch deplored the fact that its unity was "not sufficiently pronounced" and, in his opinion, "not strong enough." The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church hopes that “as soon as the political support for the schism disappears, the Church of Holy Rus' will reunite again.”

According to him, "the same forces that sought to divide the country and our people are doing everything to tear the Orthodox Church in Ukraine away from the fullness of the Russian Orthodox Church."

He compared schismatic Ukrainian denominations to the religious structures of the Soviet period, adding that they "turned out to be colossi with feet of clay and collapsed once they no longer received state support."

The Patriarch assured those present that "today we are not thinking about any political goals, but we are praying for the restoration of a strong spiritual unity of all Rus', which would be expressed in the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church."

He recalled the words of the Apostle Paul that "our battle is not against flesh and blood," and therefore called for taking care of the unity of the Church not only "by exclusively political actions, but first of all, by fighting the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Earlier, the UOJ wrote that Patriarch Kirill urged those who raised arms against their brothers to “come to their senses”.

Read also