The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has sunk to the meretricious level of evangelical Christian leaders in America. Just as the latter have bowed before the insidious Donald Trump as an instrument of divine favor, Patriarch Kirill I has praised the monstrous Vladimir Putin as a "miracle of God."
Whether Kirill believes this or merely excites to the enormous largess Putin bestows on him and the church — state funding for the construction of religious schools; fabulous apartments, Swiss chalets, yachts, secret bank accounts, a $30,000 watch for Kirill — only his God can know. But one thing is clear: From the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the patriarch has been Putin's #1 publicist of its holy righteousness.
"All of our people today must wake up — wake up — understand that a special time has come on which the historical fate of our people may depend," said Kirill in April. In another sermon to soldiers he said, "We have been raised throughout our history to love our fatherland, and we will be ready to protect it, as only Russians can defend their country." Note the verb, protect.
It should be noted that Kirill has been, from time to time, a trifle off-message when it come to Putin's fabricated rationales for the war — i.e., drug-addicted Nazis oppressing the Ukrainian people. Instead the patriarch once framed the war "as a just defense against liberal conspiracies to infiltrate Ukraine with 'gay parades,'" reports The NY Times. Perhaps Putin will hold another tutorial with him.
Pope Francis has tried. He held a Zoom meeting with Kirill in March, well into Putin's loosely organized massacre of Ukrainian citizens. The two have discussed healing the schism between their respective churches, East and West. But in their electronic meeting, writes the Times, "Kirill spent 20 minutes" explaining to the pope President Putin's ravings about the need "to purge Nazis and oppose NATO expansion."
Francis, reportedly, was rather dumbfounded. He explained in return: "Brother, we are not clerics of the state," and later told a Milan newspaper that "the patriarch cannot transform himself into Putin’s altar boy." It seems he has, though.
The European Union has had enough of Patriarch Kirill I. It's planning on including Putin's altar boy in a list of the wickedly sanctioned. Well, there goes his Swiss chalet. Now if only the U.S. Department of Commerce would do the same for America's private jet-flying Trumpian evangelists.