Moscow, July 10, 2024
Yesterday, July 9, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Liturgy at the Dormition Monastery in the city of Tikhvin, Leningrad Region. Yesterday was the feast of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God, the “Protectress of the Russian north”. During a fraternal meal after the Liturgy, His Holiness shared his thoughts on the synergy and unity of Church, state, and society, Pravoslavie.ru reports.
“The future of the country largely depends on our combined work and its results,” he emphasized.
“It is absolutely clear that Russia has chosen a unique path of civilizational development,” stated His Holiness. “It is astonishing that at the end of an era that began in the 19th century and raged in the 20th century, it is Russia that has become the true restraining force (cf. 2 Thess. 2:7), as the Holy Scripture says. The restraining force is what is capable of stopping the advent of total evil, which in the word of God is associated with the appearance of the Antichrist. And total evil aims to subjugate and destroy the human race.”
“When we talk about this topic, our Western partners often do not understand what we are talking about, or they think it is about some messianism that Russia attributes to itself. But this is not the case at all!” noted His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. “The family is being destroyed where it should have been strengthened. Shameful relationships between people, which Holy Scripture says is a grave sin, are now being considered normal. And if sin becomes the norm, what does that mean? It means the advent of the one who wants to erase the boundaries between good and evil, sin and sanctity.”
“I am far from saying that apocalyptic times are upon us. All this is in God's hands,” said His Holiness. “It is impossible to collapse all human civilization, destroy all countries, peoples, and cultures in one moment. Therefore, the escalation of evil happens gradually. But it is crucial that at each stage of the escalation of evil, there are good works, and the restraining force operates! And we know that first and foremost, the restraining force is faith in the Lord and Savior, as well as religious faith in general.”
“That is why our task is to ensure that in our country, and as much as possible throughout the Orthodox world, people do not lose the ability to distinguish between good and evil. For this, the Church must fulfill its prophetic mission,” emphasized His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. “What does this mean? A prophet is one who proclaims God’s truth. So, we need to have the courage, strength, and boldness to proclaim God’s truth. That means providing commentary on the development of society and culture that proceeds not from our own church-organizational interests, but by our concern for the salvation of the human race, for the salvation of our flock.”
“Of course, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, as the apostle Paul teaches, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the high places (cf. Eph. 6:12). And how should we fight? Of course, by celebrated the Divine services, by educating the people, but at the same time, by having intellectual and spiritual strength, we must resist the diabolical ideas that have already enslaved a significant part of the world, and we must prevent them from enslaving our people.”
His Holiness also noted that the Orthodox Christians of Russia must pray for their civil authorities, included the president.
“To our great happiness, probably through the prayers of the saints who have shone forth in the Russian land, today we have at the head of the state a person who clearly understands everything that the Church is talking about. He clearly understands that the advance of total evil will be destructive not only for Russia but for all human civilization. Therefore, our collective task is to pray for our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to support him, because the Lord has sent in this difficult time a person capable not just of withstanding the difficulties, but of mobilizing the country to have the strength to resist the advance of total evil,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill asserted.
Nevertheless, he said, the Church as the main role in restraining evil in the world.
“But a special role belongs to the Church, everyone must be aware of this,” continued the Primate. “Metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, priests, and our parish activists and laity must all be aware of our collective responsibility for the future of the country and the future of the human race.”
But all of this depends on us, he emphasized.
“Today, Russia is the restraining force, and if we do not preserve our faith, human civilization will come to an end,” warned the Primate. “May God grant us to perceive our faith, our belonging to the Orthodox Church not just as an ethnocultural tradition. Baptizing a child, dying eggs on Easter—this is not yet Orthodoxy. Therefore, today we need a renewal of our faith. I address our intelligentsia, our people: We must understand that belonging to the Orthodox Church is a necessary condition for the salvation of the country, the salvation of the people, and perhaps, through Russia’s strength, the salvation of all human civilization.”
“My wish to everyone—to the secular authorities, to our hierarchs who bear special concern for the salvation of human souls, to all our people, including our youth—is that we be together. We must be of one mind. And the foundation of this unity must be love for the Motherland and faith in God. If we lose faith in God, there will be no love for the Motherland, and consequently, there will be no Russia. Let us firmly mark this in our consciousness: faith in God, love for the Motherland, and the future of our beautiful country!” concluded His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
