{"id":2893,"date":"2023-01-07T15:44:27","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T15:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2893"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:39:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:39:47","slug":"putin-praises-russian-orthodox-church-for-backing-troops-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/analysis\/defense\/putin-praises-russian-orthodox-church-for-backing-troops-in-ukraine\/2023\/01\/07\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Putin praises Russian Orthodox Church for backing troops in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jan<\/span> 7<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> President<\/span> Vladimir<\/span> Putin<\/span> on<\/span> Saturday<\/span> praised<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church<\/span> for<\/span> supporting<\/span> Moscow’s<\/span> forces<\/span> fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Christmas<\/span> message<\/span> designed<\/span> to<\/span> rally<\/span> people<\/span> behind<\/span> his<\/span> vision<\/span> of<\/span> modern<\/span> Russia.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> issued<\/span> Putin’s<\/span> message<\/span> after<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> leader<\/span> attended<\/span> an<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Christmas<\/span> Eve<\/span> service<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> own<\/span> inside<\/span> a<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> cathedral<\/span> rather<\/span> than<\/span> joining<\/span> other<\/span> worshippers<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> public<\/span> celebration.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> his<\/span> message,<\/span> accompanied<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> website<\/span> by<\/span> an<\/span> image<\/span> of<\/span> him<\/span> standing<\/span> before<\/span> religious<\/span> icons,<\/span> Putin<\/span> made<\/span> it<\/span> clear<\/span> he<\/span> saw<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church<\/span> as<\/span> an<\/span> important<\/span> stabilising<\/span> force<\/span> for<\/span> society<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> time<\/span> he<\/span> has<\/span> cast<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> historical<\/span> clash<\/span> between<\/span> Russia<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> West<\/span> over<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> issues.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“It<\/span> is<\/span> deeply<\/span> gratifying<\/span> to<\/span> note<\/span> the<\/span> enormous<\/span> constructive<\/span> contribution<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> Christian<\/span> denominations<\/span> in<\/span> unifying<\/span> society,<\/span> preserving<\/span> our<\/span> historical<\/span> memory,<\/span> educating<\/span> youth<\/span> and<\/span> strengthening<\/span> the<\/span> institution<\/span> of<\/span> family,”<\/span> said<\/span> Putin.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Slovenian<\/span> Jesuits<\/span> ask<\/span> for<\/span> forgiveness<\/span> in<\/span> major<\/span> abuse<\/span> case<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ukrainians<\/span> mark<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Christmas<\/span> in<\/span> Poland<\/span> with<\/span> a<\/span> prayer<\/span> to<\/span> return<\/span> home<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> announces<\/span> over<\/span> new<\/span> military<\/span> aid<\/span> for<\/span> Ukraine<\/span>
\n<\/span>Shells<\/span> fly<\/span> at<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> front<\/span> despite<\/span> Putin’s<\/span> truce<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“Church<\/span> organisations<\/span> prioritise<\/span> …<\/span> Support<\/span> for<\/span> fighters<\/span> participating<\/span> in<\/span> special<\/span> military<\/span> operations<\/span> (Ukraine).<\/span> Such<\/span> large-scale,<\/span> complex<\/span> and<\/span> truly<\/span> selfless<\/span> work<\/span> deserves<\/span> our<\/span> heartfelt<\/span> respect.<\/span> “<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>On<\/span> Friday,<\/span> Putin<\/span> ordered<\/span> a<\/span> 36-hour<\/span> ceasefire<\/span> to<\/span> celebrate,<\/span> but<\/span> Kyiv<\/span> dismissed<\/span> it<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> Moscow<\/span> ruse<\/span> to<\/span> buy<\/span> time<\/span> and<\/span> regroup,<\/span> with<\/span> Russian<\/span> and<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> forces<\/span> launching<\/span> artillery<\/span> fire<\/span> following<\/span> the<\/span> announcement.<\/span> Exchanged.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>While<\/span> many<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Christians<\/span> celebrate<\/span> Christmas<\/span> on<\/span> January<\/span> 7,<\/span> the<\/span> Russian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church’s<\/span> support<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Moscow<\/span> War<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> has<\/span> angered<\/span> many<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> believers<\/span> and<\/span> divided<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church.<\/span> I<\/span> was<\/span> allowed<\/span> to.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>About<\/span> 100<\/span> million<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> 260<\/span> million<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Christians<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> live<\/span> inside<\/span> Russia,<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> abroad<\/span> agree<\/span> with<\/span> Moscow.<\/span> But<\/span> others<\/span> strongly<\/span> disagree,<\/span> dismissing<\/span> Moscow’s<\/span> claims<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> February<\/span> 24<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> last<\/span> year<\/span> was<\/span> a<\/span> necessary<\/span> preemptive<\/span> strike<\/span> to<\/span> protect<\/span> its<\/span> own<\/span> security<\/span> and<\/span> that<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine’s<\/span> Russian-speaking<\/span> population.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>There<\/span> are<\/span> approximately<\/span> 30<\/span> million<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> believers<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine,<\/span> divided<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> Moscow<\/span> Patriarchate’s<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church<\/span> and<\/span> his<\/span> two<\/span> other<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> churches,<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> which<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> monopoly<\/span> or<\/span> independent<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> Orthodox<\/span> Church<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jan 7 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Saturday praised the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting Moscow’s forces fighting in Ukraine in an Orthodox Christmas message designed to rally people behind his vision of modern Russia. The Kremlin issued Putin’s message after the Russian leader attended an Orthodox Christmas Eve service on his own inside […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[26,2480,2482,276,2425],"tags":[76,77,132,154,170,174],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/PTN.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2893"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2895,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2893\/revisions\/2895"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}