The European Commission proposes sanctioning the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, in the latest wave of economic measures against Russia.
Patriarch Kirill is a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin and has justified Moscow’s armed aggression and conquest in Ukraine.
In a sermon, Patriarch Kyrill appeared to endorse Moscow’s so-called “special peacekeeping operation,” as the war on Ukraine is officially called in Russia.
“We have entered into a struggle that has not a physical, but a metaphysical significance,” the Patriarch had also said.
Putin and the patriarch enjoy close ties, with Patriarch Kirill describing Putin’s 2012 election victory as a “miracle of God”.
And as Putin sees Ukraine as part of Russia, so does Patriarch Kirill who claims dominion over the churches in Ukraine and Belarus.
