(RISU). — The Primate of the Serbian Church, during a recent visit to Moscow, assured Kirill and Putin of his loyalty to the Russian regime and the Russian Church.
This is stated on the official resources of the Russian Orthodox Church, reports “Ukraine Orthodoxa”.
“I want to thank you for what you are doing at the level of values. Values are the foundation. It is impossible to live without values… The relations between our Churches have always been relations of love… The Patriarchs of the Serbian Church have always been connected with the Patriarchs of Moscow. My predecessor said that our small boat should be tied “to the great Russian ship”. The Serbian people look at the Russian people as one (in the original it was “one”, perhaps he meant “together” – ed.). They count on the Russian policy more than their own. And the Patriarch of Jerusalem, whom I met in Jerusalem, he said: we have a trump card, Vladimir Putin… And we say that the Serbian people will be here with you regardless of the situation in Europe. And we, despite all the divisions in Orthodoxy, will be part of the “Russian world. Our prayers are always with you,” said Patriarch Porfiry.
Kirill Gundyaev replied that Serbia and Russia did not fight each other, love for Russians is organically included in the culture of the Serbian people, embedded in the genes of the Serbian people.
“Of all the Local Orthodox Churches, Serbia is closest to the Russian Church – in culture, language. And if we even talk about history: our countries have never fought, and if they did, only side by side against someone else,” Kirill declared.
“That is why for us they are our closest friends, our brothers – both in spirit and in philosophy of life. This is of great importance: both when we discuss problems together and when we meet on inter-Orthodox platforms. The Serbian Church is the Church closest to us. And I am not saying this on the occasion that the Patriarch of Serbia is sitting here, but that is how it is.
And then, if we take history, the Serbian people and the Serbian Church have never betrayed Russia. Some Slavic people, we will not mention them, under the influence of powerful militaristic Western forces changed their orientation for a while, then repented, but changed. The Serbs have never changed. This love for Russia, as they say, is embedded, perhaps even in the genes of the Serbian people.
All this has a great impact on inter-church relations. We are always of the same mind. And when some discussions arise on inter-Orthodox platforms, you always feel the support of the Serbian Churches.
And then, of course, here’s something else I would like to say, that the Serbs, of course, are further west than us, so the Lord has ordained. This is a Church that is practically face to face with the Western world, from which one can receive, and probably did receive, a lot of useful things in both the scientific and cultural fields.
But what is happening today with human morality, with morality in the West – and I will say it out loud, what is there to be ashamed of – this whole thing is demonic,” said Kirill.
