Russia Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill is heretical, condemns the international declaration of theologians: The idea of ​​a “Russian world” is totalitarian

“Putin Patriarch ”, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarch of Moscow Kirillcondemns heresy in an exceptional declaration by the International Theological Group.

The declaration has been published in several languages, including Russian and English. It can be found on the website of the Finnish Orthodox Church from the news translated in full.

Kirillin the teaching of the “Russian world” is condemned in the declaration of theologians as heresy and religious fundamentalism, which is totalitarian in nature.

According to the declaration, in this heresy the “Russian world” has one common political center (Moscow), a common spiritual center (Kiev as the mother of the whole “Rus”), a common church (Russian Orthodox Church and the Moscow Patriarchate) and a common patriarch (Moscow Patriarchate) with the national leader Putin in control of the ‘Russian world’.

“The idea of ​​a church built around a certain nationality was condemned at the meeting of Constantinople in 1872,” the signatories recall.

“We oppose the heresy of the ‘Russian world’ and the shameful actions of the Russian regime to start a war against Ukraine.”

Theologically The detailed text goes through many Biblical sentences and condemns Kirill’s interpretations of them.

The text was originally published by the Center for Orthodox Christianity at the Catholic University of Fordham in New York, along with the Volos Academy of Theological Studies in Greece.

Ford’s University is told by HS that the main authors of the declaration are the Doctor of Theology Brandon Gallaher from the University of Exeter in England and Doctor of Theology Pantelis Kalaitzidis From the Volos Academy.

The proclamation has already collected the signatures of more than five hundred theologians and church practitioners around the world.

One of them is the Doctor of Theology and Visiting Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, who translated the declaration Ari Koponen.

To him, Chief Deacon of the Archbishop’s Office Andreas Mäkinen also directs HS’s request for comments.

“I do as a freelance writer, I translated for the church and offered this translation to the newsroom section of the church’s website, but I commented as an individual, ”says Koponen.

“This is a rather unique and quickly emerging equivalent of different local churches to the activities of the Moscow Patriarchate.”

Koponen estimates that ethnophyletism, which is specifically linked to an individual nation, is mentioned here as a “heresy”.

“It’s really doomed. Otherwise, a more up-to-date word for this criticism could be unorthodox. ”

What about Does the Finnish Orthodox Church condemn the “Patriarch of Putin” as heretical? Its members are signatories, but the church itself has not signed the declaration.

“The Finnish Orthodox Church is autonomous, ie it has its own domestic policy, but it is subject to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and heresy matters belong to the patriarchal level,” Koponen recalls.

In Koponen’s opinion, however, the Finnish Orthodox Church condemned both the attack and the speeches of Patriarch Kirill “quite quickly”.

“Finland the Orthodox Church strongly condemns the military action of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. There is no justification for war, ”said the Archbishop of Helsinki and Finland Leo and the Metropolitan of Kuopio and Karelia ArsenicMetropolitan of Oulu Elijah and the bishop of Hamina Sergei in its statement February 26.

A couple of weeks later, Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill roared in his Sunday sermon against homosexuality and pride parades. The war, he says, is about “on which side of God mankind settles”.

“It was a completely unbelievable and inappropriate speech – a sad bottom line, a deliberate misleading of believers,” said Archbishop Leo of the Finnish Orthodox Church. website.

“Theologically, it can’t stand a closer look at all. Every human being as an icon of God, and the inalienable dignity of every human being, are the foundations of an orthodox ethic with which no political trade can be made. ”

Archbishop Leo also said he was disappointed that Patriarch Kirill still did not condemn the war but followed Putin’s views and “makes the doctrines of the church he led from these lies.”

Criticism of Archbishop Leon and the patriarchs of Romania and Alexandria against Kirill, for example, has crossed the news threshold of the news agency Reuters.

International There have been other Orthodox declarations against Cyrillic politics.

An open letter in Russian about the immediate cessation of hostilities and the “brother-murder war” and the right of Ukrainians to make their own decisions without fear of violence was signed by hundreds of Orthodox priests from Russia and abroad, says Moscow Times.

The Amsterdam Orthodox Church, for its part, called for the separation of Kirill and the transfer of his own church from the Moscow Patriarchate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Orthodoxy there are more than 260 million, of which about one hundred million are in Russia or under the Moscow Patriarchate. Ukraine’s 30 million Orthodox have been divided into three churches, one of which is part of the Moscow Patriarchate, Reuters reports.

Reuters in the analysis Kirill’s actions are considered to have fragmented the church and also led to an unprecedented internal revolt.