Moscow, February 1, 2012
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia urges believers to join him in prayer for Russia, as the country "is going through a very responsible and difficult stage of its development."
"Let's unite our forces. Orthodox people can't go to demonstrations; they stand in queues to venerate the Belt of the Mother of God, and if the Belt had spent more than just a month (in Russia - IF), but half a year, then not three, but 40-50 million people would have stood in this queue. We know it for certain as we live in a nation whose majority is Orthodox," the Patriarch said after the Liturgy he celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow on Wednesday, the third anniversary of his enthronement.
According to him, Orthodox believers "don't go to rallies, their voices are not heard, they pray in the silence of monasteries, in monastic cells; but their hearts ache for the things happening with our people today."
He urged people to be vigilant.
"Remember that the loudest cry and the sharpest word are not always correct, true and fair. Thus our nation was seduced twice, or even more frequently, for the last hundred or so years," Patriarch Kirill reminded the congregation.
"And we know that God has punished all seducers, instigators, and provokers. Where are they in the history?" he said.
