Patriarch Kirill to Putin: ROC fully supports ‘Special Military Operation’
Putin and Patriarch Kirill regularly exchange holiday greetings. Photo: ROC website
On February 23, 2025, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) sent a letter to Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Defender of the Fatherland Day, the website of the Moscow Patriarchate reports.
In the letter, he assured the Russian president that Russian soldiers in Ukraine, ‘following the best traditions of their glorious predecessors, stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of the Motherland, protecting its sovereignty and national interests, contributing to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous life in the historical lands of Holy Rus.’
“By fully supporting the participants of the Special Military Operation and providing humanitarian aid to residents affected by this confrontation, the archpastors and pastors of the Russian Orthodox Church tirelessly call on the entire society to unite and act, to have firm faith, and to pray for those who protect our country from hostile forces and various encroachments, who defend traditional family and spiritual and moral values, and who ensure Russia's freedom and true independence,” the ROC Primate stated.
Previously, the UOJ reported that Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture revealed how many churches Russia has damaged and destroyed in Ukraine.
Read also
U.S. bishops call for Church unity on Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
The Assembly of Bishops of the USA has issued an encyclical for the Triumph of Orthodoxy on Church unity, veneration of icons, and support for pan-Orthodox ministry.
OCU organizes harassment of businessman for aiding UOC
Hryshchuk called for boycotting the business of the entrepreneur who built a UOC church in the Rivne region.
Head of Lavra Reserve: I believe UOC monks will move to the OCU
Ostapenko said there are 140 UOC monks and novices on the territory of the Lower Lavra.
"Shield of Judah": Biblical name given to operations against Iran
A joint Israeli–US military operation against Iran has received a code name referencing the biblical forefather of the Jewish royal line.
In Syria, Islamic militants behead statues of Christ and Virgin Mary
Vandals beheaded statues of the Lord and the Mother of God at the entrance to the "Cave of the Virgin Mary" in the village of Al-Basiya near the coastal city of Banias in Syria.
Icon with particle of Gabriel Urgebadze's relics to be brought to Uzhhorod from Georgia
The holy icon, painted in Georgia, will be brought to the Holy Trinity Church of the Mukachevo Eparchy of the UOC.