Zelensky Rebuffs Putin’s Require Orthodox Christmas Truce

This short article was initially released at The Post Millennial, a part of the Human Occasions Media Group.

On the eve of Christmas for the Russian Orthodox Church, Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill required a Christmas truce in between Ukraine and Russia in the middle of the continuous hostilities. The ask was for a 2-day cease-fire so that the faithful might go to Mass. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to the short-term cease-fire.

The leader of the war-torn country of Ukraine balked at the concept of peace, with Mykhailo Podolyak, consultant to the Chief of Personnel, calling the call for a truce a “cynical trap and an element of propaganda.” Zelensky just recently appeared in Washington to inform President Joe Biden and Congress that he needs more money for the war effort, as present United States costs levels on that dispute were “not enough.”

“I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, appeal to all parties involved in the internecine conflict to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12.00 on January 6 to 24.00 on January 7,” checked out a declaration from the Russian Orthodox Church, “so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”

“The Russian Orthodox Church is not an authority for global Orthodoxy and acts only as a ‘propagandist of war.’ The Russian Orthodox Church has called for the genocide of Ukrainians, encouraged mass murders, and insists on even greater militarization of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the statement of the Russian Orthodox Church about the ‘Christmas truce’ is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda,” tweeted Podolyak.

President Volodymyr Zelensky was outraged at Kirill’s declaration that the war was an “internecine conflict,” which he thought was a disparagement of Ukraine’s sovereign nationwide identity.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,” Putin’s order on the Kremlin’s site read.

The Ukraine Orthodox Church split politically from the Moscow Patriarchy in Might 2022, particularly in opposition to Kirill, who they stated supported the Russian intrusion of Ukraine. The Ukraine Orthodox Church figured out that they were no longer “subordinate” to Moscow, however that the split was not a schism.

The AP reported that in December 2022, Ukraine “banned the activities of religious organizations ‘affiliated with centers of influence’ in Russia and said it would examine the links between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches.”

Zelensky later on urged lawmakers to pass legislation that would prohibit the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the nation. This as Zelensky announces that Ukraine will participate in January’s World Economic Online forum (WEF) in Davos, and remains in talks with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink about reconstructing the country after the war.

“A meeting of the National Security Defense Council (NSDC) was held today. A meeting at which we examined numerous facts of the ties of certain religious circles in Ukraine with the aggressor state,” Zelensky stated in a taped declaration.

“It is necessary to create such conditions in which any figures dependent on the aggressor country will not be able to manipulate Ukrainians and weaken Ukraine from within,” he stated.

“The NDSC instructed the government to submit to the Verkhovna Rada a bill on the impossibility of the activities of religious organizations affiliated with the centers of influence in the Russian Federation in Ukraine,” he included.

In September, Kirill informed members of the Church that combating in Ukraine on behalf of Russia had a spiritual benefit, stating the “sacrifice in the course of carrying out your military duty washes away all sins.” Pope Francis of Rome warned Kirill versus ending up being “Putin’s altar boy.”

“We know that many today are dying in the fields of internecine battle,” Kirill informed fans in September. “The church is praying that this battle will end as soon as possible, that as few brothers as possible will kill each other in this fratricidal war.”

“The church realizes that if someone, driven by a sense of duty and the need to honor his oath, stays loyal to his vocation and dies while carrying out his military duty, then he is, without any doubt, doing a deed that is equal to sacrifice,” he continued.

The Russian Orthodox Church is the biggest in the Eastern Orthodox custom, which divided with Catholicism in 1054.