Patriarch Kirill calls for helping Donbass population  

Believers should continue helping citizens of Donbass, where “fratricidal slaughter” goes on, Patriarch Kirill has stated after the church service in Christ the Savior Cathedral was over. More than 200 bishops from different countries were present at the service in honor of the 9th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church leader’s enthronement, TASS informs.

“Church should be present at places of fratricidal conflicts to help those who are involved into this insane slaughter, our brothers and sisters who die or are taken prisoners”, Patriarch said. He has also mentioned contribution made by the Russian and the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches into the imprisoners’ exchanges in Ukraine.

Patriarch Kirill has accepted congratulations from the heads of churches and traditionally asked to donate money for charity instead of gifts.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia headed two hundred church services and sanctified two dozens of cathedrals. He attended more than twenty Russian regions over a year and paid visits to other countries three times.

Among the most prominent events of 2017 was sanctification of the Cathedral of the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow. Patriarch took part in two large conferences, one of them being devoted to a hundredth anniversary of the epoch of persecutions against the Russian Orthodox Church, the second one to the murder of the Last Russian Emperor’s family.

Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia at the local council on January 27, 2009. Enthronization of the Holiest Patriarch took place on February 1, 2009 in presence of representatives of local Orthodox communities, Roman-Catholic, Armenian and Coptic churches.

Russkiy Mir