Patriarch says ROC not involved in politics in any way

On November 20, 2022, Patriarch Kirill said during a sermon at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on his birthday that the Russian Orthodox Church is not involved in politics but takes human grief and pain close to its heart, reports ria.ru.

"The Church does not participate in politics in any way, but it takes the grief of people, the pain of its people close to its heart," Patriarch Kirill said.

According to the Primate of the ROC, in difficult times, which Holy Rus’ is going through today, it is necessary to pray for the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church.

"Today are indeed difficult times, but there is a good Russian proverb: a terrible dream, but God is merciful. A dream is something that is unreal, something that cannot really ruin a person's life. Many conflicts do not really have enough power to destroy the national spiritual life of all the people of Holy Rus’. We know, that in the past there were all sorts of things in Rus’ – internecine strife, clashes of brothers, and division of the united state. So, in order not to repeat what so dramatically weakened the strength of Rus’-Russia, we should pray today for the unity of all our people, the Orthodox people, the members of the Russian Orthodox Church, living both in Russia, in Ukraine, and in Belarus, and in many other countries", Patriarch Kirill said.

As earlier reported, Patriarch Kirill awarded the head of the Archdiocese of the Russian Orthodox Church in Europe.