‘Ukraine Invasion Splits Orthodox Church, Isolates Russian Patriarch’ & ‘President Putin: I Will Never Allow the “New World Order” To Pervert Nature – There Are Only TWO Genders’
Vladimir Putin met with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and congratulated him on his enthronement anniversary https://t.co/KqZacgoSLU pic.twitter.com/cKkTRxYv1A
— President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) February 2, 2022
NewsMax reported the following:
Ukraine Invasion Splits Orthodox Church, Isolates Russian Patriarch
March 16, 20222
Russian Patriarch Kirill’s full-throated blessing for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has splintered the worldwide Orthodox Church and unleashed an internal rebellion that experts say is unprecedented.
Kirill, 75, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, sees the war as a bulwark against a West he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality.
He and Putin share a vision of the “Russkiy Mir,” or “Russian World,” linking spiritual unity and territorial expansion aimed at parts of the ex-Soviet Union, experts told Reuters.
What Putin sees as a political restoration, Kirill sees as a crusade. …
Of 260 million Orthodox Christians in the world, about 100 million are in Russia itself and some of those abroad are in unity with Moscow. But the war has strained those relations. …
Ukraine has about 30 million Orthodox believers, divided between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) and two other Orthodox Churches, one of which is the autocephalous, or independent, Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Ukraine is of visceral significance to the Russian Orthodox Church because it is seen as the cradle of the Rus’ civilisation, a medieval entity where in the 10th century Byzantine Orthodox missionaries converted the pagan Prince Volodymyr. …
Kirill, who claims Ukraine as an indivisible part of his spiritual jurisdiction, had already severed ties with Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch who acts as a first among equals in the Orthodox world and backs the autonomy of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church.
“Some Churches are so angry with Kirill over his position on war that we are facing an upheaval in world Orthodoxy,” Tamara Grdzelidze, professor of Religious Studies at Ilia State University in Georgia and a former Georgian ambassador to the Vatican, told Reuters. …
The acting Secretary General of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Ian Sauca, wrote to Kirill asking him to “intervene and mediate with the authorities to stop this war.”
Kirill responded that “forces overtly considering Russia to be their enemy came close to its borders” and that the West was involved in a “large-scale geopolitical strategy” to weaken Russia …
Kirill’s pro-Putin stand also has upended relations with the Vatican. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/russian-patriarch-kirill-putin/2022/03/16/id/1061385/
Yes, the military crisis in Ukraine is causing division within the Russian Orthodox Church.
Plus, it is affecting its relationship with other churches of the world.
The WCC used to be an ally of Patriarch Kirill and the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Russian Church blamed the Patriarch of Constantinople for causing a schism between the Eastern and Russian Orthodox churches in October 2018 (see Schism: Russian Orthodox meet with Vatican regarding Constantinople). That still has ramifications today.
As far as the Vatican goes, not only has been an ally of Patriarch Kirill and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis has been an ally of Vladimir Putin (see Russia’s Putin and Pope Francis both kiss Marian icon). This military conflict is a reason that Pope Francis plans to “consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” next week (see ‘Pope Francis to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to Immaculate Heart of Mary’).
As it turns out, Pope Francis spoke with Patriarch Kirill today:
March 16, 2022
The pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia addressed the conflict during a video conference call on March 16.
The conversation, which took place in the early afternoon Rome time, was first reported by the Patriarchate of Moscow and later confirmed by the Holy See press office.
“The conversation centered on the war in Ukraine and the role of Christians and their pastors in doing everything to ensure that peace prevails,” the press office said.
The Vatican noted that the pope thanked Patriarch Kirill for the meeting and agreed with him that “the Church must not use the language of politics, but the language of Jesus.” …
The Holy See press office said that the pope agreed with Patriarch Kirill’s observation that the Churches must help to build peace and justice. …
Giving its account of the discussion, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR) said that the talks included “a detailed discussion of the situation on Ukrainian soil.” …
The DECR said that its chairman Metropolitan Hilarion and Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, also participated in Wednesday’s discussion.
“Pope Francis and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill also discussed a number of current issues of bilateral interaction,” the DECR said. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250692/pope-francis-discusses-ukraine-war-with-russian-orthodox-leader
Pope Francis still has interest with ecumenical unity with the Russian Orthodox as well as all other trinitarian churches.
That being said, as mentioned before, one of the issues that the Obama-Biden Administration had with Russia was that Russia would not endorse its LGBTQ+ agenda.
The Obama-Biden Administration’s global push of the LGBTQ+ agenda. They thought they could push Russia to support it.
They were wrong. Notice something that Hillary Clinton wrote that she did with Russia when she was Secretary of State:
When I pressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to do more to protect the rights of LGBT people, the normally cool and restrained diplomat turned nasty. …
Meanwhile, I looked for ways to make progress closer to home, by better supporting LGBT members of the State Department. . . . I supported the State Department’s annual Pride event, hosted by a group called GLIFFA, Gay and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. (Clinton HR. Hard Choices. Simon & Schuster, 2014, pp. 577-578)
Sergey Lavrov basically told Hillary Clinton that the USA was not to dictate internal policies for Russia. He was offended at how hard Hillary Clinton was trying to push Russia to promote homosexuality.
USA-Russian relations have gone downhill since the State Department pressed the LGBT agenda and Russia would not go along with it.
Hillary Clinton and the Obama-Biden Administration was pushing a type of immorality that Russia wanted no part of.
From then on, that Administration turned against Russia, and that is part of what has been a reason for the distance between Russia and the USA.
At Russia’s President Vladimir Putin last annual end-of-the year Q&A session, he made some true statements that most Western leaders will not:
President Putin: I Will Never Allow the ‘New World Order’ To Pervert Nature – There Are Only TWO Genders
December 24, 2021
Speaking to journalists at an end-of-year press conference, Putin warned that the elites in the West are deliberately trying to pervert nature by claiming that men can be women and women can be men.
“It’s inevitable [that these concepts will arrive in Russia],” Putin warned. “If someone thinks men and women are the same thing, let them think that, but let us think about common sense.”
“I believe that the traditional approach is correct. Male is male, female is female, mother is mother, and father is father. I sincerely hope that our society has the moral armor to protect us against this,” Putin added.
He also spoke about the far-left movement in the US to allow inmates to legally change their gender to female in order to enter women’s prisons.
“To fight against that, we should not just shout and point fingers, but we should support our own traditional values,” he declared.
Rt.com reports: Putin’s statement isn’t the first time a senior Russian politician has spoken out against modern, progressive ideas in regards to gender issues. Earlier this month, Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko said that it is “unacceptable” to impose foreign values on a country without taking into account its history, faith, religion, and national characteristics.
“They are trying to impose alien values on us. And not only on us but on the advancement in the world in general,” she said. “It’s sexual minority rights. There are already 85 genders in Europe. It is unacceptable for us.” https://newspunch.com/president-putin-i-will-never-allow-the-new-world-order-to-pervert-nature-there-are-only-two-genders/
As far as the Putin Administration goes, it has been consistently supporting the idea of biblical marriage as well as not pushing the LGBTQ agenda.
Vladimir Putin has been the most powerful political leader in the world to take a stand against several parts of the LGBTQ+ agenda, vulgarity (see Russia’s Vladimir Putin takes a stand against vulgar language), and some other sins that plague Western society.
Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham made some comments some time ago related to Vladimir Putin:
July 12, 2017
In 2014, Graham published an opinion piece about the Russian president’s decision to sign a law barring the distribution of “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” to children. The law, which was widely perceived to be homophobic, stirred controversy ahead of the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi. But Graham defended it anyway, saying America’s embrace of LGBTQ rights amounts to “secularism” that “is as godless as communism.”
“In my opinion, Putin is right on these issues,” Graham wrote. “Obviously, he may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda.”
He also lauded Putin’s pledge to protect Christians in Syria, noting how it was “one justification for his support of the Assad regime in Syria.”
“It’s obvious that President Obama and his administration are pushing the gay-lesbian agenda in America today and have sold themselves completely to that which is contrary to God’s teaching,” Graham wrote. “In my opinion, Putin is right on these issues. Obviously, he may be wrong about many things, but he has taken a stand to protect his nation’s children from the damaging effects of any gay and lesbian agenda.”
“Isn’t it sad, though, that America’s own morality has fallen so far that on this issue — protecting children from any homosexual agenda or propaganda — Russia’s standard is higher than our own?” he added.
“Pray for the President of Russia, [who] defends traditional Christianity,” Graham reportedly said. …
Pat Buchanan — another leader of the Religious Right — published his own piece about Russia potentially replacing the U.S. as a bastion of “Christian values,” asking “Whose side is God on now?” …
Graham still invited a delegation from the ROC to the 2017 event, and it was moved to D.C. at the suggestion of ROC external relations head Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Moscow — the same man who helped Graham come up with the idea for the conference in the first place. https://thinkprogress.org/religious-right-russia-3e80e2ea2e4a/
Notice also something else from the past:
22 September 2014
Well, it is true, is it not, that President Vladimir Putin stands virtually alone among national leaders of the major powers in publicly proclaiming his Christian identity, and in condemning homosexual “marriage” — while leaders of the so-called Christian West have adopted the politically correct line that these unnatural unions are now sacrosanct? And is it not true that Putin and the Russian government have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild hundreds of Russian Orthodox churches destroyed during the militant atheism of the Soviet era? Has he not restored sacred holidays of the Julian Christian calendar? Did he not sign a national law last year outlawing advertisements for abortion? To which we must answer: yes, yes, yes, yes; true, true, true, true.
Additional “facts” can be cited to paint an even more striking image of Putin as pious champion of Christianity: crossing himself and kissing the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary that he presented to Pope Francis during his 2013 visit to the Vatican; numerous appearances with (and blessings and endorsements from) Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian church leaders; signing into law a “ban on the propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia” directed at children, while President Obama promotes the LBGT agenda at every level and every opportunity; speaking out against the persecution and murder of Christians by Islamic jihadists in Syria and Iraq. …
In his current ruse as Defender of the Faith, Putin is not only channeling Stalin, but also Lenin, that original Bolshevik persecutor of the church. Lenin was the supreme pragmatist, happily willing to use “whatever works,” and constantly at odds with rigid communist “purists” who failed to grasp the necessity of operational flexibility in the pursuit of the final objective. http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/19162-putin-defender-of-christian-faith-and-morality
Vladimir Putin has been willing to take biblically-consistent stands on moral issues that few other influential leaders have.
Interestingly, back in 2014, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed in a law against foul language (see Russia’s Vladimir Putin takes a stand against vulgar language)–that is also something we are not seeing influential leaders in the West speaking out against.
Vladimir Putin believes that he is standing for traditional Russian Orthodox values.
The international reality is that Vladimir Putin has been the most influential political leader who has tried to publicly block aspects of the LGBTQ+ agenda.
Israel365 News reported the following today:
March 16, 2022
In a recent tweet, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) published a tweet celebrating International Woman’s Day held on March 8. The tweet features four women of Ukraine, among them a Ukrainian soldier with a Nazi Black Sun insignia on her uniform.
The NAZI Black Sun, otherwise known as the ‘Sonnenrad,’ made its initial appearance in Nazi Germany during World War 2 in 1933 when Heinrich Himmler designed the central meeting location and spiritual home for the Schutzstaffel (SS) at the Wewelsburg Castle. …
NATO claimed that they did not notice the “symbol associated with Nazism” on the Ukrainian soldier’s uniform.
Israel365 News has reported extensively about the phenomenon of neo-Nazis and Nazi ideology that has infested the Ukrainian military. https://www.israel365news.com/267509/nato-showcases-female-soldier-with-nazi-symbol-lauds-her-strength-bravery/
Now, that and the moral issues in this post are not reported here to be justification for what is going on in Ukraine (we in the Continuing Church of God are biblical pacifists). But they are mentioned to show that there are some religious reasons that Patriarch Kirill supports Vladimir Putin.
That being said, politics plays a massive role in what is happening between Russia and Ukraine.
But religion is also involved. And historically, political leaders have long invoked religion when it comes to military conflict.
Pray to the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) for God’s Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy as are two video sermonettes Russia, Ukraine, Babylonian Europe, and Prophecy and Ukraine in Prophecy?
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? Are we close to the battle with Gog and Magog? Four related videos are available: Ezekiel 38 Gog and Magog War: Is it Soon?, Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now?, Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code), and Gog, Magog, Vladimir Putin, and Ezekiel 38?
Cross-dressing and other assaults against your children. What should you do? Is there an agenda to turn your children and/or grandchildren away from biblical morality and towards practices promoted by homosexuals? What does the Bible teach about cross-dressing? What should parents do? If there is an agenda, what has been going on? There are also three YouTube videos related to this, titled Transgender ‘Woe to those who call evil good’ and Cross dressing and Other Assaults Against Your Children and USA pushing gender confusion.
The Bible Condemns Homosexuality “Same-sex marriage” for “gays” and lesbians is becoming more acceptable to many. What does the Bible teach about homosexuality and the LGBTQ agenda? Can homosexuals change? A related video sermon is titled: What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? A short video is available titled: Gay Gene? Born That Way?
Some Similarities and Differences Between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Continuing Church of God Both groups claim to be the original church, but both groups have differing ways to claim it. Both groups have some amazing similarities and some major differences. Do you know what they are? Here is a link to a related sermon: Eastern Orthodox 40+ Similar Beliefs to the CCOG.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to four related sermons: The Fantastic Gospel of the Kingdom of God!, The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.Will the Interfaith Movement Lead to Peace or Sudden Destruction? Is the interfaith movement going to lead to lasting peace or is it warned against? A video sermon of related interest is: Will the Interfaith Movement lead to World War III? and a video sermon is also available: Do You Know That Babylon is Forming?
Why Should American Catholics Fear Unity with the Orthodox? Are the current ecumenical meetings a good thing or will they result in disaster? Is doctrinal compromise good? Here is a link to a related video Should you be concerned about the ecumenical movement?
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church. Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, and What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, and Early Heresies and Heretics, and Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, and Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, and Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List.
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