Moscow (AsiaNews)
- "Despite the religious and social freedom in which we live, respect for Christian
values today means going against the trend, as in the past." The
call to "resist the stereotypes" of a society that "justifies sin"
came from the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill on the occasion of
Orthodox Easter. After
the coincidences of the last two years, when Easter was celebrated by all
Christians throughout the world on the same day, the holiday fell this year
with the difference of a week from the Catholic one. At
the Vigil liturgy, presided by the Patriarch in the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior in Moscow, was outgoing president, Dmitri Medvedev, with his wife, along
with the future head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin. The
latter, in giving his best wishes to Kirill, h promised to "increase
collaboration between church and state in Russia."
"May
your behavior, in contradiction to the evil spirit of this time, become a visible
affirmation of eternal Truth - recites the message of the Patriarch, 30
thousand parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the world - Although today we
live in conditions of religious and social freedom, respect
for Christian values means going against the trend just like in the past.
"
According
to Kirill, striving to live a Christian life means "refusing to accept the
stereotypes of behavior and the position of those who justify sin, which persistently
and systematically work their way into people's lives, through the modern means
of influencing people's conscience." Despite this,
humanity can still be saved. "When
we turn to the Lord, we can leave behind the spiritual emptiness and
selfishness that reigns in the world, we can see the light of the Resurrection
and perceive it as a sign that guides us on the path to Heaven." The
Patriarch then called for a moral and spiritual transformation of the
individual as a necessary step before aspiring to build a better society and a country.
More
than 13 thousand law enforcement officers provided security during the Easter celebrations
in 337 Orthodox churches in the capital. According
to unofficial estimates, 500 thousand are the faithful who attended church
services in Moscow.