Russian media discussed the annual 34th Christmas Readings, which took place in Moscow at the House of the Russian Army and were attended by military chaplains of the Russian Orthodox Church.
LF previously wrote about this event as a preview:
It was known that the agenda of this forum of the Russian Orthodox Church included the defense of the “Russian world”, which is allegedly meant to ensure the transformation of Russia, the spiritual meanings of the “special military operation” in Ukraine, and the specific features of ministry within the armed forces and law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation.
Russian journalists who follow the Christmas Readings this time described them as church and staff exercises and write about the ongoing militarization of this forum of the Russian Orthodox Church.
They also revealed details of the event.
The forum opened with the performance of the Russian national anthem and the Soviet hit song “Do the Russians Want War”, performed by the male choir of the Sretensky Monastery. Five hundred priests arrived for the Readings, following mandatory quotas sent to dioceses, and the forum itself was held in the format of conferences and sectional meetings. Journalists, however, noted the low level of audience engagement. The broadcast of the report titled “The Defense of Orthodoxy and the Russian World” received 23 likes.
Observers noted the poetic tone of the speech by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mariya Zakharova, who stated that “everything has converged at one point. Principles are being tested by the sword, by fire, by deeds, by spirit. These traditional values were not invented today. These are the principles on which humanity was formed, cutting off evil and sin”. According to her, a huge number of priests are working in the zone of the special military operation, who “strictly observe the canon” and help everyone.
Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Yuriy Ponomaryov remarked in his speech that the main value of the special military operation is the restoration of generational continuity, because today’s contract soldiers are finishing what their grandfathers did not complete in 1945. “By the force of arms they restore historical justice and destroy the followers of fascist ideology”.
Speaking on behalf of officials who have personally suffered losses was the governor of the Jewish Autonomous Region, Mariya Kostiuk, whose son was killed in 2022 near Soledar. She called on people to live life to the fullest, consciously, with an understanding of the significance of the sacrifice made by their loved ones, and said that the Russian Orthodox Church has a special role in the search for meaning. “In 2024, the World Russian People’s Council led by the Patriarch declared that from now on the Russian tradition, the shrines of Russian civilization, and great Russian culture are the highest value and the meaning of life”. Meaning, as it were, moved from heaven to earth, from eternity into time. It ceased to be transcendent and became purely national and state centered. The governor concluded that in this context “a genuine rebirth of the people of Russia is taking place”.
A representative of the Main Military Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Oleg Veselkov, formulated the tasks of the Russian Orthodox Church as follows. “The upbringing of a patriot and citizen, pastoral work in the combat zone, the defense of the Russian world, lessons of martial history, and the provision of comprehensive support to participants in the special military operation and their families”.
The chief “military” metropolitan, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Stavropol and Nevinnomyssk Kirill Pokrovskiy, noted that by fighting in Ukraine “the Russian Federation is correcting many historical mistakes of many decades and even centuries past”, and also “saving the world from a terrible spiritual catastrophe”. Journalists write that the military metropolitan initially said that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could be defeated “by prayer, like a Satanist”, and also called for his killing through the development of new types of weapons.
LF Commentary
Our publication has written that such events are one stage in the technology of primitivizing the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the process of its deepest fusion with the Russian military machine. More accurately, however, it should be said that the Russian Orthodox Church, having unprecedented access to society, from early schooling to the church pulpit for adults, is militarizing and turning the entire population of Russia into an obedient army. An army that will be ready to kill populations in the territories of any state, inventing ever new goals either for a “special military operation” or for a “holy war”.
