Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ addressed the masses of Christians in Russia and the world on the occasion of the Nativity of Christ, condoling with the victims of the Ukrainian crisis and explaining the ways to establish peace throughout the world.
He said: “Unfortunately, the well-known military events overshadowed the joy of celebrating Christmas. We can only mourn the dead and wounded, pray for them and pray that they are in safer places.”
He added: “The Orthodox clergy and volunteers actively help those in need, visit the wounded in hospitals, send necessary things, medicines, food and much more that people need, and I sincerely thank them for this. We really have become one big family.”
According to the patriarch, peace in Ukraine and throughout the world is possible only if there is faith in people’s lives.
He said: “We believe that through the prayers of the saints there will be peace between the peoples of Holy Rus’ and in every place of conflict in the world. But one condition is required, the Lord of the world, to be with us, to remove God from life and create a technocratic civilization without a Soul that does not need God, this is the most terrible thing you can imagine.
The Patriarch of Moscow emphasized that the most terrible conflicts in the modern world are due to the alienation and isolation of people from faith.
He said: “All the terrible conflicts today are due to people turning their backs on the faith. Conversely, relying on faith, you can deal with conflicts and overcome them. God bless this living faith that was given to us through Jesus Christ. helps us arrange our lives and our personal relationships, but rather And more than that, build relationships between states, and expel those vices and contradictions that now threaten the life of all mankind.
Patriarch Kirill urged Christians to ask God for peace in all corners of the earth, and in fact to express sympathy, help and support to those who need evidence of their faith.
Patriarch Kirill called pathetic attempts to destroy the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church and called on believers on Christmas Eve to pray for the followers of the faith in Ukraine, who were expelled from Kyiv.
He said, “Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters. We believe that these satanic temptations will someday end, and over time, many will remember with a smile the regrettable attempts to destroy the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.”
Earlier, the patriarch called for a Christmas truce in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6 to 24:00 on January 7.
Subsequently, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian Armed Forces to timely implement the ceasefire along the entire line of contact in the Special Warfare Zone.
For their part, the Kyiv authorities rejected the Russian initiative for a temporary ceasefire aimed at observing Christmas Eve rituals.
Despite the ceasefire of the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, the Ukrainian forces did not respect the truce and continued to bomb targets and cities controlled by the Russian army.
Christmas is one of the most important holidays for Christians, as it recalls the events that took place more than two thousand years ago, when Christ was born in the Church of the Nativity in the city of Bethlehem in Palestine.
Source: News