“Thanks to the Orthodox Church for helping us in the military operation” message released
Ukrainian Orthodox Church celebrates ‘independent’ Christmas amid fury… Some switch to December 25th
Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for supporting the war once morest Ukraine on the occasion of Orthodox Christmas on the 7th (local time).
Instead of participating in public celebrations, Putin announced the Christmas message following attending a midnight service that began on Christmas Eve at a church inside the Kremlin Palace, the presidential residence, according to Archyde.com and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
“I am very pleased with the extremely constructive contribution of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian sects to unite society, preserve our historical memory, educate young people and strengthen the family institution,” he said in the message.
“Church organizations prioritize supporting our fighters in special military operations in Ukraine,” he said.
Christmas is usually on December 25, but some countries that believe in the Orthodox Church, such as Russia and Ukraine, have celebrated a later date as Christmas on January 7 every year.
Prior to this, on the 6th, President Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire to celebrate Christmas, but Ukraine refused, saying it was just a ploy by Moscow to buy time and reorganize.
In fact, even following President Putin declared a cease-fire, both sides continued to shell.
It is analyzed that President Putin reaffirms that he is relying on the Orthodox Church as the basis for Russian social stability and national unity in the harsh wartime.
The WSJ particularly noted that it was the first Orthodox Christmas since President Putin launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine as if it were a “crusade” once morest the “corrupt West.”
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, insisted in an interview on state television that believers should see the war as a holy struggle once morest the West to preserve the “Russian world” and keep the Slavic lands under Moscow’s spiritual and political leadership.
In a video released on TV, President Putin, who is attending the ceremony, was also seen making the sign of the cross several times.
In Ukraine, too, believers gathered in churches to celebrate Orthodox Christmas.
However, many Ukrainian Orthodox Christians are outraged by the Russian Orthodox Church’s support for the invasion of Ukraine and have switched to December 25, which is celebrated by most other Christians instead of January 7.
There are 260 million Orthodox believers worldwide, 100 million Russian and regarding 30 million Ukrainian.
The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is divided into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate and the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church was recognized by the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 2019, but is not accepted by the Moscow Archdiocese.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, especially following the Russian invasion, does not list Russia’s Patriarch Kirill in the list of fraternal leaders in public worship and uses its own holy oil without receiving it from Moscow.
Russia’s Patriarch Kirill accused the Ukrainian government of suppressing the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has long had ties with Moscow, during a service on the 6th.
Patriarch Epiphanius, head of the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, officiated at a service in front of a large crowd of believers at the Kyiu Caves Monastery, one of the most important holy places of the Orthodox Church.
The Associated Press reported that the Christmas service was conducted in Ukrainian for the first time in 31 years since Ukraine’s independence, and among the believers singing carols were Ukrainian soldiers in military uniforms.
Patriarch Epiphanius said, “As a nation, we sought to live in peace with understanding of all our neighbors, but the enemy, meanly, broke the peace and invaded our land.” “, he criticized.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Christmas message released late on the night of the 6th that the Ukrainian army is “fighting to defeat the beast without falling prey.”
/yunhap news
