#Russian Orthodox Church

[odinsblog]

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has called for an all-Russian ban on “encouraging women to have abortions” in order to combat the demographic crisis

“As a member of the clergy, I testify that an abortion is a disaster and a tragedy for the woman and those close to her,” Kirill said in January, per the BBC.

Putin sees it as “an acute problem,” per the BBC. Kirill says anti-abortion policies are the solution.

(continue reading)

#politics #russia #abortion #reproductive rights #religious reich #patriarch kirill #bodily autonomy #reproductive justice #healthcare #vladimir putin is a war criminal #russian orthodox church #vladimir putin #vladimir putin go fuck yourself #russia is a terrorist state #🇺🇦 > 🇷🇺 #population control #militarism #military industrial complex

[mask131]

I wanted to make this post last year but I got caught up in events (plus I couldn't find back my sources). But given the recent international events have completely turned away most media's attention from the Russian war on Ukraine, I thought it was finally time to make this post.

Because I want to talk about something truly crazy. Something that shows how deep Russia's distortion, warping and twisting of the Christian religion went - and how back there, we're back to the times of holy inquisitions.

Many people have covered the fact that the propaganda of Putin over Russia isn't just mediatic and politic but also religious. There were many viral reports and TV reports and investigations about how the higher-ups of the Russian Orthodox Church were in Putin's pocket, openly shared Putinist propaganda during their religious offices, declared that the war against Ukraine was a "holy war" that God wanted, that Putin was merely the agent and arm of God - there was this whole thing about the Patriarch blessing the weapons of the Russian soldiers sent to the front, and about him explicitely saying that the Devil and/or the Antichrist was in Ukraine.

But there is something that is even bigger and more shocking than that, and that shows how in Russia war = religion. It is a building: the Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces.

The building of this cathedral started in 2018, but it was only completed in 2020. The cathedral is technically a religious building, but the main reason of its existence is to celebrated the "various military feats of Russia", chief among which - the Russian victory over the Nazis during World War II. The completion of the cathedral was done on the Victory Day celebrating the Soviet Union crushing the Nazis ; and it was opened on the "Day of Remembrance and Sorrow" (a commemoration of when the Nazis turned against the Soviet Union and tried to march over it). There's something about "the resurrection of Christ" in there, but let's be honest, this was built exclusively for and around war.

This building is absolutely grandiose, without a doubt - and its beauty and enormity is a proof of Russia's dedication to its unique mix of religion and military matters. In fact it was considered one of the great monuments of Russia... until the Ukrainian attacks made people reconsider what this symbol ACTUALLY meant.

And the thing with this building is that it was FILLED with carefully-thought war symbolism. For example, take the main dome's diameter: 19,45 meters... To symbolize the year when World War II stopped (1945). [Another source rather claims that the dome's diameter is 22,43 meters but it doesn't change the symbol: the Nazi capitulation was signed at 22h43]. There is a small dome that is 14,18 meters in height - because the conflict between the Nazis and the Soviet Union lasted 1 418 days and nights. And the belfry is 75 meters tall... because 75 years had passed between 2020 and the end of World War II. By the way, did you know that when Russians talk of the end of World War II and how they helped defeat the Nazis, they do not speak of the "World War"? No, they rather speak of "the end of the Great Patriotic War". Because the conflict between the USSR and the Nazis wasn't part of any world conflict, oh no! It was just one specific war against the patry - aka Russia. The total height of the Church is a reference to Saint Vladimir's (the one who Christianized the Rus lands) birth date, etc etc...

Things get better - the steps and floors of the cathedral are made of metal. Metal made from the melted war trophies taken from the Nazis - their weapons an their tanks for example. As such, the Russians will forever walk on the remains of their old ennemies. The church's saints are carefully chosen as the patron-saints of the Russian military: saint Elijah the Prophet, saint Barbara, saint Fyodor Ushakov... All organized in the four sections of the church, each dedicated to a different branch of the army; ground forces, navy, aerospace military and strategic missile forces. There's a lot of depictions of Jesus wielding a sword too.

And then we go to the mosaics... Ah, the mosaics! These mosaics are not about the history of Christianity, but about the military history of Russia, each one depicting a great battle or a great Russian victory. You have several depictions of the orders of the Red Army overthrowing the Imperial forces in Russia, you also have depictions of the Soviet (or Communist) successes during World War II of course - there's the Battle of Stalingrad, there's the Reichstag fire... You also have more recent depictions of soldiers, with a kalashnikov in their hands... And of course, the latest mosaic depicting the latest "Russian military success" at the date of the Cathedral's fundation: the annexation of Crimea.

This mosaic was in fact part of a dual scandal, before while the Cathedral was built, two images were leaked of two intended mosaics - one for the Crimea annexation and one for the (exclusively Soviet of course) victory over the Nazis in World War II (sorry, "The Great Patriotic War"). And the scandal was because on the latter Stalin was depicted, and on the former it was Putin who was on the mosaic. There was a big outcry, and ultimately the artists of the cathedral decided to remove the faces of Putin and Stalin... But not before asking for Putin's opinion first, and then - this is very symbolic - their faces were replaced by icons.

Yeah all of this is kind of overwhelming - but one has to remember that in Russia, the Orthodox Church is on the same level as the various ministeries of Putin. The Patriarch Kirill, who consecrated the cathedral, has as such openly supported Putin's war and politics - invited and present at all of Putin's government meetings alongside his various ministers, the Patiarch has also placed in his sermons the exact same slogans and words used by the televisual Russian propaganda. In spring 2022, he held a whole sermon about how the Russian people had to stand together as brothers again the treacherous and wicked West - and added that the reason the Donbas distrusted the Russian Orthodox Church was because of the "vile phenomenon" of the Gay Pride - and added that it was against the corruption of the West, and the anti-religious "gay propaganda", that Russia was fighting - that it was to eliminate THIS that they threw bombs over Ukraine.

Speaking of that I almost forgot! Very recently the cathedral added a new stained glass to its windows... One made with broken glass shards from Mariupol, collected during the Russian attack.

And let's not forget how the Patriarch promised to absolve all the Russians sent to the front who would die on the battlefield against the Ukrainians (the SAME kind of words that were used in the Middle-Ages for the crusades!) - because, and I quote, "such a sacrifice will cleanse you of all human sin". And at the beginning of 2023 (if I recall well), the Patriarch went as far as to say that if Russia didn't win this war, "someone" (he didn't specify who) but SOMEONE would appear "with the intentions of dominating, and then destroying the world" (aka, the Antichrist). This was later backed up by Dmitry Medvedev, who added that the real goal of the war against Ukrainian was to "stop the supreme leader of Hell" (and this time he dropped names, but several at once - Satan, Lucifer, Iblis).

We are literaly back to medieval crusades and to the crazy witch-hunts. Russian propagandists will stop at nothing to convince people that everything is evil outside of Russia.

"But..." you're going to say, "Not all Orthodox Russian priests can be falling for this crap!". And indeed you are right, there are priests in the Russian Orthodox Church that called out the fact Christianity was about peace, not war. The problem is that the higher-ups of the Church have started a hunt for all priests that advocate for peace rather than war - and they simply kick them out of the Church and revoke their status as priests. The Orthodox priests who refuse to see their faith turned into political propaganda are forced to flee into other Orthodox countries to maintain their status as priests.

#russia #putin's russia #ukraine #war on ukraine #russian propaganda #russian orthodox church #cathedral of russian armed forces #war horrors #religious horror #patriarch kirill #ukrainian war #the dark side of christianity #religious propaganda #i don't even know how to tag this

[mockva]

In the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, a priest, at the request of the police, blessed the most dangerous sections of the road.

Water in the cold

#russia #2024 #religion #Christianity #Russian Orthodox Church #skrepy

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Andrei Rublëv, The Trinity (Russian: Троица)(1411)

* * * * *

The Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has announced that Andrey Rublev’s famous “Holy Trinity” ikon, until now part of the Tretyakov Gallery collection, is church property once again, following Vladimir Putin’s special order. The ikon, now kept in a special repository at the State Tretyakov Gallery, will next be transferred to Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, to be exhibited there for a year. Afterwards, it’s going to be sent to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, a historic monastery located in Zelenograd, just outside of Moscow, where the ikon was installed until the 1917 October Revolution.Last summer, Rublev’s masterpiece was exhibited at the Lavra for three days, while on loan from the Tretyakov Gallery. After its brief “visit” to the Lavra, the ikon came back in destabilized condition, with 61 “substantial changes” to its material makeup documented by the conservation staff, including five areas of critical damage. Art conservators are alarmed by the decision to transfer the ikon to the Lavra permanently. At the moment, they believe, all of its layers are still in extremely fragile condition. The ikon’s survival depends on precision climate control that will not be possible at the Lavra.

[Meduza]    ::   [Robert Scott Horton]

#icons #Andrei Rublev #The Trinity #Russian Orthodox Church #Robert Scott Horton #Meduza

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

I was just discussing Putin's fictious 'family values' that he was boasting about to Tucker Carlson in this post.

Yulia Navalnya, widow of Alexei Navalny, released a video exposing Putin's fictitious 'Christian faith'. That was another boast the dictator made earlier this month to Tucker Carlson, who sat stupefied, as though he were in the presence of the Dalai Lama, rather than the presence of a genocidal dictator. Putin claimed that Westerners were more 'practical' and Russians more 'spiritual'.

Now that we all see Putin continuing to torture Navalny's family even after he murdered Alexei Navalny, everyone can judge this Russian 'spirituality' for themselves. A dictator tortures a grieving mother, a grieving wife, and grieving children, by bribing prison officials to tell lies and refuse to grant the most basic dignity in death to a man who was poisoned, falsely imprisoned, tortured, and eventually murdered.

Navalnaya points out the most obvious moral fraudulence of a man who is careful to be filmed kissing Orthodox icons while maintaining a terror state that murders dissidents.

She also points out later how Putin hid behind religious faith to justify his murderous war in Ukraine, which has now exceeded two years. The Russian Orthodox Church, led by ex-KGB agent Vladimir Gundyaev (now known as Patriarch Kirill), blessed Putin's murderous intentions under the guise of his 'one people' doctrine.

Patriarch Kirill described his 'one people' doctrine of Russians and Ukrainians as including the same Russian Orthodox Church and the same language, Russian. It was Patriarch Kirill who blessed Russian soldiers going to fight someone else's country without justification.

And it has been Patriarch Kirill who has been totally silent when Russian bombs have not only massacred innocents (the same people he claims are part of one entity), but also damaged Ukrainian churches.

It's not just Putin's faith that is fake; the entire Russian Orthodox establishment is fake. It exists on paper as a church, but in reality functions as an embezzlement and money laundering outfit for the Russian government, something Alexei Navalny exposed in his anti-corruption documentaries.

More importantly, the Russian Orthodox Church serves to sanitise and whitewash the ruling dictatorship by presenting the dictators (Putin and Lukashenko) as deeply spiritual men who are single-handedly preserving the religious and cultural foundations of the Russian state and Russian-speaking peoples. (As we know, they define the Russian state and Russian-speaking peoples in imperialist terms, namely, in terms of the non-existent Russian Empire.)

The church falsely advances the idea that without these dictators, Russia's stability would collapse and 'immorality', defined as Western liberal values, would creep in and cause moral ruin.

You had best believe that these 'spiritual' men are paid handsomely in bribes and luxuries like private jets to promulgate this false narrative. You had also best believe that despite their pontification about 'family values' and 'Russian culture', the Russian Orthodox Church has a long history of behaving in exactly the opposite way. Read about the state of the church and the morality of its priests and monks during the days of self-styled monk, Grigori Rasputin (c.1869-1916), as just one example. I put it to you that very little has changed since then.

We do not ask, but we demand: return the body of Alexei Navalny to his family immediately!

#return navalny's body #stop putin #stop russian aggression #stop the war in ukraine #stop russian terrorism #free ukraine #russia without putin #free russia #rest in peace #yulia navalnaya #patriarch kirill #russian orthodox church #violence #news #prison #abuse #human rights abuse #Youtube

[wgm-beautiful-world]

The Holy Trinity Saint Sergius Lavra Monastery is the largest monastery of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sergiyev Posad, Moscow Region, RUSSIA

#the holy trinity #saint sergius #saint sergius lavra #monastery #church #russian orthodox church #sergiyev posad #moscow region #russia #europe

[nataliaparaskovya]

The most special easter ive ever had in my life!

This is my first time going for midnight worship in my beloved russian orthodox church and im absolutely in love with it!

С праздником!

Христос воскрес!

Пожалуйста любите твоё семья и врагов, делать молитва и читать Библию

Я хочу что все люди очень счастлив это праздник ☦️🤍✨

#christianity #christian #orthodox christianity #jesus #easter #russian orthodox church #orthodox #orthodoxy #orthodox easter #easter vigil #русский блог #русские посты #на русском #по русски #россия #русский язык #русский текст

[canaanitechristian]

Orthodox cross necklace.

#orthodox cross necklace #russian orthodox church #Christian #orthodoxy #orthodox christian #Christianity #gold #gold chain #vsco #вохе #krusts

[dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night]

Russian Orthodox is the best form of Christianity. I'm not a Christian, but if I was-

#Abraham original: Hot off the press #russian orthodox church #Russia #Christianity

[politicoscope]

Zelensky Takes His War to Cancel The Russian Orthodox Church

Zelensky Takes His War to Cancel The Russian Orthodox Church

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has announced new measures seeking to ban religious institutions deemed to have links with Russia. He said the move is intended to safeguard the nation’s “spiritual independence” amid Kiev’s conflict with Moscow. The statement comes as the SBU, Ukraine’s domestic security agency, launched what it called a “counter intelligence” action at several Ukrainian…

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#Orthodox Church #Russia-Ukraine War #Russian Orthodox Church #Ukraine War #Ukrainian Orthodox Church #Ukrainian President #Vladimir Zelensky #War and Conflicts

[redshift-13]

https://twitter.com/intermarium24/status/1623362867255816194

A Russian Orthodox priest giving a warlock’s last sermon, a devilish benediction in front of the universal church of human self-humiliation, war.

With godly purpose he ushers the soldiers into the charred corpse fields and spontaneous cemeteries around Ukrainian towns. 

What does any life mean in the gun barrel heat of this faith?

Moscow is heaven, the divines transmit its national testament, and the animals in the land die of heart attacks.

God’s stuck in our throat and we’re choking.

#russia #ukraine #russian orthodox church #the problem of god

[mockva]

Military temple of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country of victorious Satanism

#russia #2024 #moscow #Russian Orthodox Church

[illwriteyouasuicidenote]

by Ferry Vermeer on Flickr.The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church - Sergiyev Posad, Russia.

#Christianity #Radonezh #Russian Orthodox #Orthodox Church #Russian Orthodox Church

[contemplatingoutlander]

The parallels between how the Russian Orthodox Church and it’s leader Patriarch Kirill views Putin and how right-wing, white “Christian” evangelicals view Trump are scary--as are both “Christian” groups’ political agendas.

On a Sunday morning this month, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church...called on Russian soldiers to “love our fatherland … protect it, as only Russians can defend their country.” A vocal supporter of President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, Kirill disdains liberal culture and the acceptance of homosexuality. And he blames the West for the conflict. [...]

An established voice in Christendom, Kirill also links Putin spiritually with God. When Putin convened a February 2012 meeting of religious leaders... Kirill called the 12 years of his rule a “miracle of God.”

How different from here at home?

President Donald Trump incited the Capitol insurrection.... Still, White evangelical Christian leaders flock to meet with him at his private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. “They do believe he’s a man who loves our country, and he’s embraced policies that are in keeping with the truth of God’s word and that’s why they selected him,” said Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas and a close Trump ally.

How deep and abiding a faith?

On Jan. 6, 2021, some Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol carried signs declaring “Jesus Saves.” After taking over a Senate chamber...the rioters... invoked the name of Christ as they bowed their heads and prayed. They believed they were doing the Lord’s work.

Putin’s and Trump’s people, separated by an ocean, are united in defining their countries in a view of Christianity that they believe must be fought for and preserved. [...] This kind of White Christian nationalism has been seen at work before. And Christianity has been seen at rest, too.

Both modes wreak havoc.

We saw White Christians in the South sit serenely in their pews listening to what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called “pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities” as blatant injustices were inflicted upon Black people. We can’t help but notice the absence of moral sensibilities in many of today’s Christian churches, as right-wing Christian nationalists, in the name of Christ, try to overturn elections, attack voting rights and convert this country into a living hell for all unlike themselves, especially people of color and members of the LGBTQ communities.

Just as Kirill’s Russian Orthodox Church is getting away with giving aid and comfort to a Kremlin butcher of innocent souls in Ukraine. [...] And there it is: the sins of commission and omission — both willfulness and the failure to do what is right — played out before our very eyes, at home and abroad. Without an ounce of repentance in sight.

[emphasis added]

#white right-wing christians #white chirstian nationalists #gop #trump #us politics #russian orthodox church #putin #patriarch kirill #colbert i king #the washington post

[wgm-beautiful-world]

Russian Orthodox, Saint Nicholas Cathedral, Vienna, AUSTRIA

#russian orthodox church #saint nicholas #cathedral #vienna #austria #europe #europa

[nataliaparaskovya]

#russian #christianity #orthodox #orthodox christianity #aesthetic #thoughts #moldova #russian language #russia #russian orthodox church #russianblr