Russian priest criticizes the Church: war critics are persecuted!

Russian priest criticizes the Church: war critics are persecuted!

In a dramatic accusation, the Russian arch priest Alexej Uminski criticizes the Russian Orthodox Church (ROK) and its patriarchal leadership under Kyrill I. He claims that the church has now received a close alliance with the state regime, led by President Vladimir Putin. According to Uminski, the Church brutally oppresses the voices and the rights of those Christians who are against the "anti -Christian attitude" of the patriarch and the ideology of the "Russian world". In an interview with the newspaper "Die daily post", Uminski described the persecution of brothers as an alarming sign of spiritual degeneration in Russia and pointed out that many political prisoners, including believers, had to sit behind bars due to greatly oppressed, deviating opinions. This situation is described by him as a threatening example of the authoritarian turn in the Russian system, in which the Church acts as a supportive institution for the governing, also to maintain its own interests, such as kathpress.at reported.

The rise of Kyrill I and the State Church

Patriarch Kyrill I has developed into the key figure of the Russian Orthodox Church since his election in 2009. He brought the church closer and closer to the state and is often considered the closest of allied Putin. Kyrill's support for the aggressive war against Ukraine, which he justifies as a "Holy War" and questions the Ukrainian identity, is particularly striking. This change towards political influence, which was already reflected in his previous political views, is also evident in his collaboration with the KGB, where Kyrill already worked as an agent in 1972. These entanglements with the state ensure that the church is increasingly removing its original mission, such as the Wikipedia Documentation about it. In his sermons, Kyrill emphasizes that Russia stands in a metaphysical struggle against the West, which is not only polarized by religious but also the political landscape of the country.

Uminski's exclusion from the ROK and his subsequent calling to the church of Paris are further evidence of the alarming situation of religious freedom in Russia. The situation not only represents a challenge for the believing, but also raises basic questions about the role of the church in an increasingly repressive political climate. "The voice of the church is only heard when it is in accordance with the state," said Uminski, while the fate of critics who are against this course is often banished in the dark shadows of prisons.