2024-05-05 07:06:40
President Vladimir Putin and dozens of Moscow laity attended the festive Easter service for the Resurrection of Christ, celebrated by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, a staunch supporter of the Russian leader and his war in Ukraine, BTA reported.
Putin, dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and dark red tie, was at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow with the capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, each holding a lit red candle, video footage from the service showed.
The Russian leader crossed himself several times during the service, which began in the late hours of yesterday and continued into the early hours of today. When Cyril announced “Christ is risen,” Putin and other believers responded with “He is truly risen.” The rest of the time he did not speak.
Kirill strongly supports the war in Ukraine, which has entered its third year, notes Reuters. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions driven from their homes since Putin ordered the invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbor in February 2022.
During the service, the patriarch prayed that Russia’s “sacred borders” would be protected and expressed hope that God would put an end to the “interpersonal conflict” between Russia and Ukraine, TASS reported.
Putin, in whose worldview Orthodoxy occupies a central place, always attends services for major church holidays. On Christmas, he usually visits smaller temples near Moscow in a narrower circle.
On Easter, the Russian president usually goes to the gold-domed Christ the Savior Cathedral, which was rebuilt after the collapse of the Soviet Union and has become a symbol of the symbiotic relationship between the state and the Orthodox Church in Russia, notes Reuters.
Under Cyril, the Church tightened control over dissent within its ranks. A priest has been threatened with expulsion for refusing to pray to God for Russia to defeat Ukraine, and another was suspended from his clerical duties for officiating at the graveside of Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison in February.