The head of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, praised the efforts of Moscow Patriarch Kirill aimed at supporting participants in the “special military operation”.

This is stated in Putin’s congratulatory message addressed to Patriarch Kirill on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

The text speaks of “unceasing ascetic labor for the benefit of the Russian Orthodox Church, the fatherland, and the people.” Putin also refers to Gundyayev’s merits in the “consolidation of society,” as well as service to “mercy, goodness, and justice.”

“I would especially note your efforts aimed at supporting our heroes, the participants in the special military operation, educating the younger generation, strengthening high moral and patriotic ideals and family values, and preserving the unique historical and cultural heritage of which Russia is rightfully proud,” Putin emphasizes.

As is known, in March 2022 Orthodox theologians around the world condemned the heresy of the “Russian world.” In the declaration, which by that time had been signed by more than 1,500 Orthodox scholars and hierarchs, it was stated that the roots of the Moscow Patriarchate’s support for aggression against Ukraine lie in a type of Orthodox ethnophyletic religious fundamentalism that is totalitarian in character and is known as the “Russian world.”

It is also known that around five hundred priests appealed to the primates of the Eastern Churches regarding an international church tribunal for Patriarch Kirill.

In 2022 to 2023 personal sanctions against Kirill for supporting military actions were introduced by the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, and other states.

As LF reported, during a meeting with Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin, Moscow Patriarch Kirill, Gundyayev, said that “under the tsar-batyushka everything was good and prosperous,” because at that time the Church was “part of the state apparatus.” Gundyayev also noted that after years of persecution “the Lord once again showed mercy to the Church and to the Orthodox people,” referring to Putin’s rule.

According to information from LF, in November 2025 Patriarch Kirill Gundyayev stated that military valor is “inseparable” from spiritual valor, and that participation in war may be regarded as a form of Christian service. This attempt to justify war through spiritual rhetoric provoked an immediate and sharp reaction within church circles.

According to Regina Elsner, a researcher of Eastern Christianity and ecumenism at the University of Münster and a doctor of theology, the Russian Orthodox Church has turned into one of the key institutions of mobilization and propaganda.

Earlier we wrote that Pope Leo XIV and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I condemned attempts to use religion to justify violence.