Russian Orthodox Church Leader Blames Invasion on Ukraine's 'Gay Pride'

[AntiFascist]

Source: Newsweek

A major religious leader in Russia has come out in support of the invasion of Ukraine and laid the blame on the support of gay rights.

Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, during a Sunday sermon called Russia's "military operation" in Ukraine a conflict over "which side of God humanity will be on" between Russia and Western countries that embrace more progressive values. In particular, he called attention to Ukraine's support of gay rights and the presence of gay pride parades, The Moscow Times reported.

"Pride parades are designed to demonstrate that sin is one variation of human behavior," Kirill said during the sermon. "That's why in order to join the club of those countries, you have to have a gay pride parade."

The church leader characterized pride parades as "loyalty tests," and said that countries looking to ally with Western powers must embrace them or be shunned. Further, he claimed that the breakaway regions of Ukraine at the heart of the current conflict, collectively known as Donbas, have "fundamentally rejected" such values.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/russian-orthodox-church-leader-blames-invasion-ukraines-gay-pride-1685636

---

Holy crap! Right, because gay rights and fascism always go together. Russian idiots need to get their story "straight".

[BeyondGeography]

1. Calling him a POS would be an insult to shit everywhere

[NotHardly]

14. Well, TBF he does sound like a good Republican, Florida version

[Magoo48]

58. Are these guys even a real thing? They sound almost as repulsive as our crazy religious jerks.

Historically, religion generally a boil on humanity’s ass.

[patphil]

2. Sacred feces!

I find it amazing that humanity is so concerned about sexual activity being done only the way God wanted it to be. As if they knew what that was.
The only place where two sexes are needed for reproduction is in physical, 3D bodies.
Angels don't procreate; they aren't divided into male and female. Their Holy Spirit is created directly by God.
So why all the fuss? Doesn't love come from God? If two people want to share their love for each other, why would God condemn them?
After all, love is love isn't it?
Again, it's only down here where love can be judged as wrong...by humans, not God.
Religious leaders should stop putting their words in God's mouth.
Unfortunately, beings of darkness often masquerade as holy people so they can get all self-righteous on someone's ass and then claim God says they can.

More harm has been done on this planet in the name of God than for any other reason.
If God were able to be pissed, I would imagine s/he would be.
But I would genuinely be concerned that God might decide that humanity has gone far enough and direct the Sun go nova. Sort of like erasing the cosmic blackboard.

[txwhitedove]

27. Bravo, so well said. I was raised Christian to know a loving God, but agree with you.

[overleft]

55. Being gay in whichever way was how God meant you to be.

Just like the abortion issue, I do not understand the obsession with something Jesus did not find important enough to even mention. He, however, said as you mentioned to love your neighbor as yourself. That being true, whom do these ignorant religious zealots worship? It is not the God that is taught by His Son Jesus.

[patphil]

59. Their "god" is one of hate and darkness.

[nycbos]

3. Not suprisng.

Yesterday white supremacist were blaming the Jews for the war. As a Jew I know that train is never late.

I figured it was only matter of time before gay people were blamed too.

[Ray Bruns]

61. I was wondering when the Jews were going to be blamed for this.

Only a matter of time, I guess.

[ck4829]

4. No different than one of the religious leaders giving praise to the Iraq War or the Rwanda Genocide

[GB_RN]

5. What The Absolute Fuck?

Putin's invasion is the fault of support of gay rights? Non sequitur.

[Warpy]

6. I don't suppose it will do any good to point out he;s the one who's wearing a dress

Believe what you want, but honestly, there's no fraud lile an old religious fraud.

[sarcasmo]

7. Russia and the GOP have similar talking points.

[Irish_Dem]

53. Yep. Some US states talk the same way.

[Cha]

8. Uh huh.. Nice Shit religion

💙💛

[IronLionZion]

9. Invading a country because they have gay rights sounds pretty fascist to me

Is the plan to bomb the gay out of them?

[Aussie105]

10. Really?

When you think about it, it's so damn obvious! /sarcasm

The again . . . old man shouting at clouds?

BUT I'm wondering . . . the Jewish Space Lasers could come in handy now, they are needed but seem strangely inactive.
They should be able to target each and every Russian weapon of war.

So, over to you, MTG, what's up there?

[Grokenstein]

11. First it was "denazification," then they blamed Jews, now it's gays

Gonna post this again.

[Roc2020]

12. Why is it Gays are always the reason Thiest

blame for world catastrophic events? Could the reason be preacher man that Mankind is simply wicked arrogant corrupt and greedy?

[Warpy]

18. Nah, gays only get noticed when they can't gain any traction

ranting about how "da Jooz" control everything.

Fucking fascists are nothing if not 0redictable.

Uppity women are on the list, too, just a little farther down.

[Dr. Strange]

65. It's common sense.

Gays cause invasions and lesbians cause earthquakes. Pretty simple if you think about it.

[dalton99a]

13. "practically a subsidiary, a sister company of the KGB"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church

Beginning in the late 1980s, under Mikhail Gorbachev, the new political and social freedoms resulted in many church buildings being returned to the church, to be restored by local parishioners. A pivotal point in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church came in 1988, the millennial anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. Throughout the summer of that year, major government-supported celebrations took place in Moscow and other cities; many older churches and some monasteries were reopened. An implicit ban on religious propaganda on state TV was finally lifted. For the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, people could see live transmissions of church services on television.

Gleb Yakunin, a critic of the Moscow Patriarchate who was one of those who briefly gained access to the KGB archive documents in the early 1990s, argued that the Moscow Patriarchate was "practically a subsidiary, a sister company of the KGB".[44] Critics charge that the archives showed the extent of active participation of the top ROC hierarchs in the KGB efforts overseas.[45][46][47][48][49][50] George Trofimoff, the highest-ranking US military officer ever indicted for, and convicted of, espionage by the United States and sentenced to life imprisonment on 27 September 2001, had been "recruited into the service of the KGB"[51] by Igor Susemihl (a.k.a. Zuzemihl), a bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church (subsequently, a high-ranking hierarch—the ROC Metropolitan Iriney of Vienna, who died in July 1999[52]).

Konstanin Kharchev, former chairman of the Soviet Council on Religious Affairs, explained: "Not a single candidate for the office of bishop or any other high-ranking office, much less a member of Holy Synod, went through without confirmation by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB".[48] Professor Nathaniel Davis points out: "If the bishops wished to defend their people and survive in office, they had to collaborate to some degree with the KGB, with the commissioners of the Council for Religious Affairs, and with other party and governmental authorities".[53] Patriarch Alexy II, acknowledged that compromises were made with the Soviet government by bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate, himself included, and publicly repented of these compromises.[54]

[AntiFascist]

23. Interesting...note also the KGB history of anti-Zionist propaganda...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_anti-Zionism

Soviet anti-Zionism was an anti-Semitic propaganda doctrine promulgated in the Soviet Union during the course of the Cold War, which intensified after the 1967 Six-Day War. It was officially sponsored by the department of propaganda of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and by the KGB. It alleged that Zionism was a form of racism, and argued that Zionists were similar to Nazis.

[Behind the Aegis]

43. Ain't it funny how deeply ingrained Soviet/Russian propaganda is in our society?

Funny as in scary, not "haha" funny.

[dickthegrouch]

15. Finish the war quickly:

We should threaten to send all their handsome muscly soldiers home gay.
That's our MO anyway isn't it (according to those idiots).
If it's such a threat, maybe they won't want to cross the border.

[EndlessWire]

46. Oh, what a good idea! LOL! n/t

[SWBTATTReg]

16. Religion and religious figures need to quit bashing anyone that is out of the normal

in order to make their stupid ignorant claims, that is, bash some other human beings in order to proclaim their superiority over others.

[mountain grammy]

29. Not when it's working so well for them..

They will never quit as long as the collection plate fills up.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

17. Another confirmation that I made the right move to give up religion decades ago

[rpannier]

19. They really need to get their stories straight

With Tulsi its NATO
JD Vance said it was over wokeness
Alex Jones it was Soros and Transgender
This guy its gays

[orwell]

20. Is this what's he's talking about?

[TomWilm]

21. He actually has a point about pride parades as a loyalty test ...

... the main reason some ultra conservative parties in Denmark supports gay rights, is in the belief that it will irritate all our Muslims.



Patriarch Kirill is also known to be fully in the Kremlin's pocket, no support for peace from him. But lots of religious blessings for all the arms used in Ukraine. During a special service in 2007, the Russian Orthodox Church even consecrated the country’s nuclear arsenal, which has its own patron saint: St. Seraphim.

[colorado_ufo]

34. Jesus had a thing or two to say about hypocrites, but

he never spoke against gay people.

[TomWilm]

50. And that is my favorite quote from the bible to gaybashers ...

Here is a full extraction of what Jesus said about homosexuality: "".

As for the other texts in the Bible, a closer examination of the context of Leviticus 18:22 show that the phrase “beds of a woman” is incorrectly translated as “as with a woman". The literal translation is “with a male, you shall not lie, beds of a woman; it is an abomination”.

This indicates that Leviticus 18:22 either condemn two men having sexual relations with the same woman, or a homosexual intercourse with a married man - and not homosexuality as such.

[ffr]

22. Orthodox JIHAD

Putin JIHAD.

For what? Over what? All this murdering, for what?

They seem to have made a death pact and are ready to leave this world AND all too happy to take the rest of us with them. What spoiled little shits! Go fuck yourselves!

[Beausoleil]

24. Oh yeah! Killing children for God!

Because of the gays.

Make perfect sense to all Christians everywhere!

[Biophilic]

25. I'm still puzzled what gay people ever did to these people - both the Russians and the GOP.

I've kept pretty good track of history and current events over the years and I haven't ever come across anything that gays have ever done to anyone else that would or should create this kind of a backlash. It's both so horrific and just plain weird.

[AntiFascist]

35. I think they are playing games to try and stir up the former "religious right" within the US...

It all started with Reagan, Anita Bryant and continued with Pat Robertson, then Trump. "Evangelicals" have continued to support this bullshit and have been waiting for a comeback. Anti-Christians who are predicted in the bible itself!

[Biophilic]

38. I hear you and I suspect you are right, but it is just plan evil.

[EndlessWire]

47. "And I hope that Anita Bryant never, ever does one of my songs." Buffet n/t

[mountain grammy]

26. Well now.. Guess that gives Putin the right

To nuke the fucking world then, right pastor death?

[txwhitedove]

28. Right? I had same thought. WTF, how does that justify slaughter and mayhem?

[mountain grammy]

32. I believe this is coming from the pulpit of many American churches

Pat Robertson basically said the same thing a few days ago..

The hell with recording teachers, we need to be recording preachers.. the real dangers to civilization.

[regnaD kciN]

30. The Russian Orthodox Church has been a toady to the secular authorities for centuries...

First to the Tsars, and then even to the Bolsheviks (they were the "acceptable" church that always counseled their followers to respect the government, even as it was killing and imprisoning their clergy), and now to Pootie-Poot.

For what it's worth, they also cut off all ties to the wider Eastern Orthodox Churches after the Patriarch of Constantinople (the Orthodox equivalent of the Pope) decided to recognize the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a separate entity, instead of insisting it remain under the control of Moscow. Right now, Patriarch Kirill is considered a schismatic by the rest of Orthodoxy.

[AntiFascist]

36. Good to know! n/t

[RussBLib]

31. yet another ugly religion

so many flavors of religion. Obviously they all cannot be right. It is possible and probable they are all wrong.

[bucolic_frolic]

33. Church leaders are reactionary forces none too pleased at losing their power

so they invent new demons to hoodwink the public

[TrogL]

37. Michael Smerconish had a caller on his SiriusXM program

...proclaiming that due to "globalization" (dog whistle for 'Jewish banking conspiracy') all Western countries were corrupt and that Russia was the only Christian nation left as it had no homosexuals. Putin be praised.

[nvme]

39. CURING UKRAINE OF ITS GAY NAZIS

REALLY PUTIN?!

[nvme]

40. WE GAY NAZIS ARE THE DOWNFALL OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

MY BOA IS SCANDALOUS. I CAN TAKE DOWN A MIG WITH IT

[SunSeeker]

42. LOL

[SunSeeker]

41. Sick scumbag.

He obviously doesn’t believe there is a Hell, otherwise he would be afraid he would burn in it for all eternity for his bigotry.

[Behind the Aegis]

44. ...

[Skittles]

45. religious nutcases

a dime a dozen

[EndlessWire]

48. Remember that laundry list of people they

intend to purge if they win the war? That's what they will do if they win. A lot of people are going to be hurt for nothing.

I am tired of seeing idiots--plain men, ugly men who pretend to be religious or worshipping G-d when all it means is another branch of power, just another type of power. It enables them to hold power over other people. These are the "false prophets," people who have nothing to contribute except hate, spewing it out like their word means something. It does not.

Take away the robes and the hat, and this guy has nothing important to say. He isn't holy. He's just an old, white POS trying to convince everyone that he means something. I'll bet he can't get it up.

[Samrob]

49. So, they have their own Pat Robertson.

[Duppers]

51. FFS!

What are so many practicing Christians so obsessed with everyone's sexuality?? It's insane.

My mother & her mother were and they were nut cases.

[SheltieLover]

52. Ridiculous!

[VWolf]

54. Fuck him .... with a splintered cricket bat

(Apologies to Ted Lasso)

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

56. Fascism, including hatred of LGBT, is now the foundation of so many religious organizations.

Patriarch Krill is a hateful, fascist jackass.

[lark]

57. Putin in a dress?

This man is insane too.

[DBoon]

60. as Franklin Graham nods his head in approval

[Martin68]

62. What better PR for Gay Pride than some bearded fogy in a weird hat attacking it?

[Permanut]

63. Sounds like Putin's Pope. n/t

[Jetheels]

64. Says the old man decked out in a floor length velvet gown, gold trim,

and a hat more bejeweled than any drag queen ever.
Where does Newsweek dredge up these trash people from?