Putin’s top priest tells Russians not to fear death amid mobilization

The top of the Russian Orthodox Church urged Russians to not worry demise after some 300,000 reservists have been known as up to battle in Ukraine.

“Go bravely to meet your army responsibility. And keep in mind that in the event you lay down your life in your nation, you can be with God in his kingdom, glory and everlasting life,” Patriarch Kirill, a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin, stated in a sermon on the Zachatyevsky Monastery in Moscow on Wednesday.

Kirill, who has justified the invasion of Ukraine by arguing that Russians and Ukrainians have been traditionally one folks, stated in his sermon that an individual of “true religion” is just not afraid of dying.

Based on the clergyman, an individual turns into “invincible” when he stops fearing demise.

“It's the worry of demise that drives a warrior from the battlefield, that prompts the weak to commit betrayal and units brother towards brother. However true religion destroys the worry of demise,” Kirill pontificated following a liturgy celebrating the start of the Virgin Mary.

Patriarch Kirill (left), Vladimir Putin’s high priest, urged Russians to not worry demise after the president ordered the mobilization of 300,000 reservists.

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On this picture taken from video, Russian draftees stroll to take a bus to be despatched to the army items of the Japanese Navy District, in Yakutsk, Russia, Friday.

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In his remarks to the congregation, Kirill additionally urged Russians to not view Ukrainians as their enemies.

“We all know the type of hazard is hanging over the Ukrainian folks,” the spiritual chief stated, claiming that makes an attempt have been being made to remodel Ukraine right into a nation hostile to Russia.

“We should pray at present that God strengthens fraternal emotions between the nations of the Holy Rus,” Kirill preached.

The top of the Russian Orthodox Church, who was sanctioned by the UK for supporting the warfare in Ukraine, urged Russian males to bravely fulfill their army responsibility.

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Russian draftees collect inside an indoor stadium became a set middle. The phrases within the background learn “From friendship in sports activities to peace on earth!”

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Kirill delivered his remarks simply hours after the Russian president introduced a partial army mobilization — Russia’s greatest call-up since World Warfare II — following a collection of devastating army setbacks in Ukraine seven months into the invasion.

Putin’s handle to the nation sparked protests towards the warfare in 38 cities and despatched costs for air tickets from Moscow hovering above $5,000 for one-way flights as Russian males of army age fled for his or her lives.