The traditional spiritual values of the Russian people are being “crossed out,” Patriarch Kirill has said
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia speaks during the opening of the 33rd International Christmas Educational Readings in Moscow. © Sputnik / Stanislav Krasilnikov The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has warned about attempts to use multiculturalism to turn the country into a “nationless and faithless” society. The traditional spiritual values of the Russian people are sometimes being “not just trampled upon, but literally crossed out,” Kirill said during a speech in Moscow on Tuesday, as cited by the official website of the church. It happens despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022 signed a decree clearly stating that “Orthodoxy plays a special role in the formation and strengthening of traditional values,” he reminded churchgoers. “Crosses on pictures with churches and even in state symbols are being shamefully rubbed out. Although, one should not be ashamed of the cross, but of one’s own rootlessness and forgetfulness,” the patriarch stressed.
He sounded the alarm over the alleged persecution of Christian humanities faculty lecturers at the country’s universities, saying “it turns out that even in the teaching of Russia’s history there can be ‘too much religion.’” “They are repeating the idea that Russia is a ‘multinational and multi-confessional’ country like a mantra. Nobody would have argued with this if in practice this formula did not turn into an attempt to reformat our Fatherland into a nationless and faithless society,” Kirill stressed. Russia is home to 195 peoples, who speak between 277 and 295 dialects, according to the country’s Ministry of Science. A study carried out by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) last year suggested that the vast majority of Russians considered themselves Orthodox Christians (66%), followed by Muslims (6%), Buddhists (1%), Protestants (1%), Jews and Catholics (both less than 1%). Another 13% said that they were non-believers.
