Sign of the Times: Putin on the Catholic Church: “We live in a world based on Biblical values …Liberal circles in USA are beginning to use certain elements and problems of the Catholic Church as a tool to destroy the Church itself.”
On the eve of the G20 summit, Vladimir Putin spoke with The Financial Times Editor Lionel Barber and Moscow Bureau Chief Henry Foy. It is considered to be an iconic interview.
“Putin’s examination on this subject is correct. Leftists have their own religion of the state that’s in conflict with the true and living God of the Bible. They’ve determined long ago that they must destroy truth with their graven image(s) of varied artifice.This of course is a strategy of madness but as religious fanatics they’re totally committed to their gods and incapable of coexistence.”
A new cathedral outside Moscow dedicated to the Russian armed forces has been consecrated.
The ceremony was attended by the country’s top military brass and soldiers wearing World War Two-era uniforms.
The opening was originally planned for May 9, the 75th anniversary of Victory Day, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The consecration was led by Russia’s Orthodox Patriarch, Kirill.
“Today, as a unified people, in this military cathedral, we remember the feats of our soldiers, and we pray for our fatherland, so that the Lord protects our country from external and internal enemies,” Patriarch Kirill announced to the congregation.
Earlier, the patriarch praised the military for defending the country “from external and internal enemies” and thanked Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu for their support in building the church.
By Silencil
The invited dignitaries included Defence Minister Shoigu and Vasily Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff, as well as many decorated war veterans.
There had been plans to install mosaics of President Vladimir Putin and former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in the cathedral, but the idea was dropped after a public outcry.
The cathedral’s six golden domes are dedicated to the patron saints of each branch of the Armed Forces of Russia.
A museum at the church complex features exhibitions about the history of Russia’s armed forces and the Great Patriotic War.
The Soviet Union lost an estimated 26 million people including 8.5 million soldiers in World War Two, and remembrance of victory has become fundamental to Russian identity.
