Christmas interview with Patriarch Kirill. Patriarch Kirill's Christmas interview with the Rossiya TV channel

"War is always grief." Patriarch Kirill's Christmas interview

On January 7, 2016, the Russia-1 TV channel broadcasted the traditional Christmas interview of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the journalist and TV presenter, Director General of the Russian international news agency Russia Today Dmitry Kiselev. We offer the readers of "Pravmir" the text and video recording of this interview.

- Your Holiness, thank you for this traditional Christmas interview. But this year our conversation differs from all previous ones in that Russia is fighting... How should a believer relate to this? It is clear that we are talking primarily about Orthodox Christians, but also about Muslims.

- Killing a person is a sin. Cain killed Abel, and, having embarked on the path of committing sin, humanity found itself in a situation where a violent way of influencing an individual, a group of people, and countries quite often turns out to be a means and a way of resolving conflicts. This, of course, is the most extreme and most sinful way. But the Gospel contains amazing words, the essence of which is that blessed is he who gives his life for another (see John 15:13).

What does this mean? This means that engaging in certain activities that could lead to death may be justified. The Gospel clearly describes when this is possible - when you give your life for others. Strictly speaking, this is what the idea of \u200b\u200ba just war is based on. Even Blessed Augustine tried to describe the parameters of such a war in the distant V century. Now, perhaps, there are slightly different ideas, but the essence remains the same: military actions are justified when they protect a person, society, and the state.

What is happening today in seemingly distant Syria, which in fact is not distant at all, is literally our neighbor - this is the defense of the Fatherland. Many are now clearly talking about this, because if terrorism wins in Syria, it has a huge chance, if not to defeat, then extremely darken the life of our people, bring misfortune and disaster. Therefore, this war is defensive - not so much even a war as point impacts. But, nevertheless, this is the participation of our people in hostilities, and as long as this war is defensive in nature, it is fair.

Besides, we all know very well what terrible misfortunes terrorism brings. Our people went through terrible trials - Beslan, Volgograd, it is impossible to list everything. We are burned by this pain, we know what it is. And our plane, which was shot down over Sinai? Therefore, all that happens is a defensive response. In this sense, we are boldly talking about a just fight.

Besides, there is another very important point. By our actions, we are participating in the salvation of so many people in Syria and the Middle East. I remember how in 2013, when we celebrated the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, Patriarchs and representatives of all Local Orthodox Churches came to Moscow. We met with Vladimir Vladimirovich in the Kremlin, and the main topic was to save the Christian presence in the Middle East. This was a general appeal to the President. I do not want to say that this particular motive is decisive, but it is about protecting people who are unjustly destroyed as a result of terrorist acts - including, of course, the Christian community.

Therefore, like any war and any military action associated with the death of people, this war is a grief and can be a sin. But as long as it protects the lives of people and our country, we treat it as just actions aimed at achieving just goals.

- Your Holiness, you are talking about saving people, but this war (I mean the war in Syria and our military operation as a part of it) complicates the position of the Orthodox in the world - they are in any case associated with Russia ...

- As they say, there was nowhere to go further. The position of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and many other countries has reached an extreme. Today, Christians are the most oppressed religious community, and not only where clashes with Islamic extremists occur, but also in many other places, including prosperous Europe, where the public manifestation of Christian feelings, for example, the open wearing of the cross, can lead to the fact that the person will be removed from work. We know how Christianity is being squeezed out of the public space - in many countries today the word "Christmas" is not used.

Christians are indeed in a very difficult situation, and what is happening now in Syria, it seems to me, will not worsen it. On the contrary, we know cases of return from captivity, we know cases of the liberation of Christians and entire Christian settlements, places of their compact residence. From the reaction that we receive from our fellows, it is clear that they look with hope at Russia's participation in this war of liberation, in these actions aimed at overcoming terrorism.

In that case, to what extent is what is happening in Syria now a religious war? How can you counter the fanatics who, they say, are driven by faith? What is the nature of this phenomenon?

- It has already become a commonplace to say that this is not a religious war, and I join this attitude towards this conflict. Let me give you a historical example. Relations between Christians and Muslims in history have not been cloudless. We know that there were cases of forced conversion to Islam and the conquest of the Christian territories of Byzantium. But, if we leave out of the brackets the actual military actions, which were always accompanied by losses on both sides, then there has never been anything like what is happening now in the Islamic world.

Take even the example of the Ottoman Empire. There was a certain order of relations between religious communities. Until now, in the hands of an Arab Muslim - the keys to the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher. This is all from the very Turkish times, when the Muslim was responsible for security, for keeping Christian relics. That is, such a method of interaction between communities was developed, which, of course, cannot be called the most favored nation regime, but people lived, performed their religious duties, there were patriarchies, the Church existed - and all this in antiquity, in the 1st millennium or in the so-called dark Middle Ages ...

But then came the enlightened times - the end of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century. And what do we see? The genocide of Christians, as we have just said, is the extermination of the Christian population. The presence of Christians in Iraq and Syria has decreased by an order of magnitude, people are fleeing from the fear of being destroyed by whole families ...

There is such a thing as fanaticism, that is, an idea brought to the point of absurdity. So, fanatics believe that they have the right to dispose of the fate of people, that is, to freely decide whether a Christian community exists or not - most often that it does not exist, because Christians are “unfaithful” and are subject to destruction. This fanatical idea itself, taken to the point of absurdity, is the opposite of a religious idea, contrary to God. God did not call to destroy anyone in the name of relations with Him, or, better to say, for the sake of manifesting religious feelings. Therefore, behind fanaticism, in the end, there is godlessness, only this is not understood by the dark mass of people who are involved in these terrible actions. To do so is to reject God and God's world.

- Are fanatics atheists?

- Fanatics are de facto atheists. Although they will talk about their belonging to the faith and even perform some religious rituals, but by convictions, by their views, these are people who deny His will and God's peace. It couldn't have been otherwise. In order to create a terrorist community, people need to be inspired to hatred, and hatred is not from God, it comes from another source. Therefore, when we talk about the so-called religious fanaticism, extremism and terrorism, we are talking about the phenomenon associated with the refusal of a person to be a believer and be in union with God.

- The world is split, and maybe the fight against terrorism is a chance for it? Can the fight against terrorism unite humanity, and if so, on what basis?

- Perhaps, tactically, he will reconcile some forces to solve common problems, but the struggle against someone can never unite. We need a positive agenda. We need a system of values \u200b\u200bthat would unite people, and let me take this opportunity today and say something about the phenomenon of religious terrorism that I have never said before.

How are people lured into the terrorist community? With money, drugs, some kind of promises - this whole, so to speak, non-idealistic factor works to the full. And there is no need to idealize everyone who joins this community. Many are driven by extremely tough pragmatic interests - to cash in, conquer, steal, seize. The same use of Syrian oil fully testifies to the presence of greed and conquest.

But there are also people who are honest, or at least those who join the ranks of terrorists for really religious reasons. I am sure that there is, because people respond to the call of extremists most often in mosques, after prayer, but how can you influence a person who has just prayed to force him to take up arms? It is necessary to bind his religious feelings, his faith with completely concrete arguments aimed, among other things, at participation in military operations and on everything else that accompanies terrorist activities. And what can be an argument - have we ever thought about it? "You become a fighter for the caliphate." - "What is a caliphate?" “And this is a society where faith, God is at the center, where religious laws prevail. You are creating a new civilization in relation to the one that is now established in the world - godless, secular and also radical in your secularism. "

We now see that this godless civilization is really advancing, including on the rights of people, which are proclaimed almost the highest value - but you cannot wear a cross. Parades of sexual minorities can be held, this is welcome, and the million-strong demonstration of French Christians in defense of family values \u200b\u200bis dispersed by the police. If you call an unconventional relationship a sin, as the Bible tells us, and you are a priest or a pastor, then you may not only be deprived of the opportunity to serve, but also go to prison.

I can continue to continue to give just terrible examples of how this godless civilization comes. And that's what the finger is pointing at to young people who are seduced by extremists. "Look what they are building a world - a devilish world, and we invite you to build the world of God." And they respond to this, for this they go to give their lives. Then they can use drugs and anything, but in order to arouse a person to fight, you must first show him the enemy. That is what they do, calling specific addresses and saying why certain people are enemies in relation to you, and perhaps in relation to the entire human race.

Therefore, reconciliation must not be based on the fight against terrorism. We all need to think about the ways of development of human civilization, we all need to think about how to combine the modern scientific and technical or, as they say now, post-industrial society with those spiritual and religious values \u200b\u200bwithout which a person cannot live. You can oppress the Church, push it back, you can deprive people of the opportunity to pursue their religious needs, but religious feelings cannot be killed, and this is well known.

It is necessary to combine human freedom with moral responsibility. It is necessary to give every person the opportunity to live in accordance with God's law. It is not necessary to restrict the manifestation of religious feelings, and at the same time it is not necessary to limit the freedom of human choice. If we can connect all these constituent parts, then we will build a viable civilization. And if we fail, then we are doomed to constant struggle and constant suffering. It is impossible to try to build the future by tug of war, by the victory of one model over another, by creating some artificial forms of human community that do not correspond to either moral nature or religious feeling. And if mankind succeeds in achieving a moral consensus, if this moral consensus can somehow be incorporated into international law, into legislation, then there is a chance to build a just global civilization system.

- You are talking about a chance and you mentioned France. In France, after these terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, the national response to them was a call to prayer - and this is in a country where, according to statistics, Christians are already in the minority, less than half. So what was it? Seizing the chance you mentioned?

- It was a natural reaction of people. You know, the same thing happened after September 11 in New York - temples of all confessions and religions began to overflow with people. The same thing happened when the seemingly completely atheized Soviet society turned to God during the Great Patriotic War... The temples were overcrowded; As people who took part in the fighting told me, there was not a single atheist on the front line. When a person comes face to face with a danger that he cannot overcome on his own and even together with others, he turns to God - and he hears this God's answer! Otherwise, they would not have addressed Him.

Therefore, leading us through some trials, the Lord, of course, is waiting for our conversion. And in this sense, I very highly appreciate what is happening in our country today. I do not idealize what is happening, but I see how slowly, not without work, there is a certain convergence of the two principles in the life of our people, how a certain synthesis of the material, scientific, technical principle, the aspiration of people for a prosperous life with the growth of their spiritual needs occurs. I cannot say that we have achieved much. We may be at the very beginning of the path, but this is a very correct path. When I see young people, educated, prosperous, with a bright, strong faith in their hearts, you know, the soul rejoices. See the image new Russia- in fact, it's worth living for.

- Your Holiness, when you talk about our country, then, of course, we recognize Russia. On the other hand, you have more than one country, for example. Ukraine is also your country, and the Russian Orthodox Church every service raises prayers for Ukraine, for the suffering. How do you assess the processes taking place in Ukraine?

- For me, Ukraine is the same as Russia. There my people, the Church, which the Lord blessed me to lead in this historical period of time. This is my joy and my pain. This is the reason for sleepless nights and the reason for the high enthusiasm that sometimes visits me when I think of people who, with such strength and faith, defend their convictions, their right to remain Orthodox.

Of course, what is happening in Ukraine today fills the heart with anxiety. We are witnessing horror stories with the capture of temples. Ptichye village, Rivne region. Several women, two priests sit huddled together for several days - cold, electricity is off, there is no heat, no food, no water. Miraculously, one managed to make a phone call and we learned about what was going on inside. And around a roaring crowd demanding to throw out these people and transfer the temple that they built, which belongs to them, to another religious group, which we call schismatics, which does not belong to the canonical Church. The court stands for the rights of the believers of our Church, but no authorities protect these rights.

Maybe someone will say: “Well, what are you talking about a particular case? Look at the life of the country as a whole. " But what does this mean? People have chosen the so-called European path of development - well, they have chosen and chosen, no one is tearing the hair on their heads about this and no one is trying to interfere with this path. Well, go down this path! Is terror a factor in modern European life, with all its costs that we talked about? Is it possible in this way to attract people to the European path of development, when for many it is associated with blood and suffering? I'm not talking about the hunger and misfortune of many people ...

And this is what I would like to say, and I know that my words will be heard in Ukraine. All this struggle is going on, including for a catholic Ukraine, for the preservation of its unity. But how can unity be maintained in this way? After all, people who do not want to repeat the experience of the village of Ptichye - they will fight with all their might so that the power that condones such a seizure of churches and oppression of believers does not come to their home! This means that this kind of policy encourages the division of the Ukrainian people. Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, it is stupid. It is necessary to unite people, but you can unite, which everyone knows from the example of family relations, only through love, openness, and readiness to hear. You need to make an effort to make everyone feel good, you need to calm down too zealous who are trying to rock the boat, you need to give others a chance to show themselves. But, unfortunately, nothing of the kind is happening in Ukraine today.

I have only one hope that there is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a Confessor Church, which today really unites the people. Not a single political force unites the people, not a single political force works for conciliar Ukraine, especially those very loud-speaking people who proclaim the idea of \u200b\u200bconciliar Ukraine as their political program. They do not work for this program, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is working, which unites the East, West, North, and South, which humbly but courageously speaks the truth, which leads people to unification, and this is the only way and only with this unifying a factor can be linked to the prosperous future of Ukraine.

I pray for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry, for the episcopate of our Church, for the clergy, for the believing people, and I believe that in this way Ukraine will be preserved and will be a prosperous, peaceful, calm country, friendly towards its neighbors, open towards Europe. No one will feel bad from this, so God forbid that it be so.

- Ukraine is going through difficult times, not only in the spiritual, but also in the material sense. The people fell into poverty, and the economic crisis is affecting both Russia and many countries of the world. People who only yesterday considered themselves the middle class are becoming poorer and are beginning to feel poor, even if they are not living in poverty, but in the material sense they are worse than yesterday. They have a kind of low self-esteem, and recently such a worldview structure has developed that only a good life is valuable, and a bad life is not needed at all. This leads to the fact that someone may even commit suicide, someone falls into despair, gives up ... Still, the value of life - how does it change, and does it change, in the conditions of an economic crisis, in conditions of lack of something ?

- I think it all depends on what is inside the person. After all, we went through, and our parents went through the hardest periods, from an economic point of view, much more difficult than now. Now, in general, the severity is relative - a person earns a little more or less, only God forbid that the economic situation deteriorates, but in general today there is no tragedy in the country. Therefore, the faint of heart, internally weak, empty people are disappointed.

If you associate all your well-being only with money, if well-being is measured by the quality of your vacation, material living conditions, then the slightest reduction in consumption may seem like a monstrous tragedy. And what does it mean? This means that the person is not too resilient. He cannot always live in some particularly favorable conditions; and even if the conditions are materially favorable, then everything happens in his soul. And how often do well-off people go through a crisis family life, through despair, how many suicides among the rich and prosperous people!

The only thing to fight against, which should never be allowed, what we need to eradicate, is to eradicate poverty. There is a difference between poverty and misery. Dostoevsky says this very well in Crime and Punishment. There Marmeladov philosophizes about this, that poverty does not destroy pride, that is, a certain self-confidence, but poverty sweeps people out of human communication ...

- "Poverty is not a vice, poverty is a vice" ...

- Indeed, poverty throws a person out of society. Who will communicate with the unfortunate vagrant who sleeps on the street, who will let him into the house? A poor man, neatly dressed, intelligent, will be allowed in, and they will talk, and will be hired, but the beggar is all, he is an outcast. But this is our people, these are not some aliens who have descended to us. And if you delve into the history of these poor people? Often they were happy a year or two ago, but different circumstances - raider seizure of an apartment, loss of job, loss of health - lead to this state.

Therefore, one of our national tasks should be to ensure that there is no poverty in Russia, that there are no homeless people in Russia. The church tries to do everything in its power to help, to warm in the winter time, to wash, dress, give advice, buy a ticket to home. These are not very significant measures, but a nationwide program for the complete eradication of poverty should be adopted.

But even with all this, we will not solve the problem of human happiness. No decrease in interest rates and no increase in income will play a decisive role. I say this because it is on everyone's lips now, people are very concerned about what is happening with their investments in banks, with loans, and everything else. This, of course, is important, I am not minimizing this problem, but I want to say that it is not at all determined in the first place what human life and human happiness mean.

But on what concerns the internal state, you need to work every day. After all, what is faith? This is the way of constant self-control and influence on your soul, on your consciousness. When we pray morning and evening, we must subject ourselves to careful analysis. I know that it is sometimes difficult for people to read prayers, because even in Slavic it is not very successful, and there seems to be not enough time, but there is enough time to think about yourself, to reflect on your life, about the day passed. So do it before the face of God! Subject your actions to analysis, control them, ask God for forgiveness and admonition so as not to repeat mistakes. I spoke to someone incorrectly, raised my voice at someone, pulled someone back, hurt someone, offended someone, deceived someone ...

If we talk to God about all this and ask for His help, then we will change ourselves, we will change our inner world. We will become stronger, and our well-being depends on this inner spiritual strength - in my opinion, to a much greater extent than on external material factors. Although these factors should not be minimized, taking into account all that we have said in connection with the miserable existence of many of our citizens.

- Your Holiness, I cannot but ask this question in the coming year. We will be celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the Russian monastic presence on Athos. How is this holiday supposed to be celebrated?

- This is a very important event in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the history of Athos and, of course, in the whole of universal Orthodoxy. On Mount Athos, in our monasteries on the eve of this holiday, grandiose restoration work has been and is being carried out. Private philanthropists are investing heavily in the restoration of Russian Athos monasteries, and we very much hope that our monasteries, which fell into disrepair during the 20th century, will be transformed by the celebration of this event, because there was no influx of monks, ties with Russia were severed.

Also in our country will be held scientific conferences, carried out numerous research projects and publications. We want to involve our scientific community, our intelligentsia and, of course, our people in this celebration. Why? Because Athos was, is and will be a center with a special spiritual meaning for us, for all our people. Surprisingly, Athos played, plays and will, apparently, continue to play an important role in the Christianization of our society. After all, many go there for the sake of exoticism - just to see what kind of place it is, where women are not allowed, where monks are self-governing, some kind of state within a state ... They come and feel the grace of God in their hearts and keep in touch with Athos. For many, this connection leads to God and strengthens their spiritual life. Therefore, the anniversary, in addition to the cultural one, historical significanceis also of great spiritual importance to our people.

- What will be most important for your flock in Russia and the world in the coming year? What to avoid, what to strive for?

- I cannot give any specific advice now. Because for each person, all this is very individual, and what is good for one person may not be very good for another. And some general advice, general wishes do not touch the mind and heart too much ... But I would like to say about very important things that will help in implementing plans and overcoming life's difficulties.

We have already said that it is good every morning and every evening, while standing before God, to analyze your life, bring repentance and act in the future in accordance with this analysis, but now I would like to say about prayer in general. This is a completely special phenomenon, because God created us autonomous, including from Him. He gave us such freedom that we can believe in Him or not, live according to His law or not, turn to Him or not. Then we simply live according to the laws and elements of this world. There are physical laws, so we live by these laws, or we ourselves create some laws and live by them. And prayer is a way out of this autonomy. The man says: "You created me this way, but I want to be with You." Prayer is drawing God into your own life. Through prayer we make God our co-worker, as it were. We say: "Help, come into my life, limit my freedom" - because very often we do not know what to do.

They come to the priest and say: "Father, should I get married or not?", "Should I marry or not?" I always say to confessors: "Be careful with such answers, how can you know?" These are the questions a person should address to God, as, perhaps, smaller questions related to everyday life... When we ask God, when we pray, we establish a connection with Him, God is really present in our lives, and we become stronger. This is the first thing I would like to wish people: learn to pray. Learning to pray means learning to be strong, and what will hinder our connection with God in any case is when we consciously sin. Of course, we can also repent - sincere repentance removes sin and responsibility for it, but what is very important, if we consciously live in unrepentant sin, then our prayers do not reach God. Sin is the only wall that really separates us from God. There is a wall, and there is no contact, the circuit does not close ...

- An unrepentant sin?

- Unrepentant sin. Therefore, when we realize that we are doing badly, we need to repent, first of all, before God, well, if anyone has the strength and capabilities, then in the temple before the priest. This is the second thing I would like. By the way, confession is not before the priest, but before God, the priest is only a witness to the fact of repentance. The sinner was excommunicated from the Church, he could not receive communion, he could not enter the church, and therefore there had to be a witness of his repentance in order to say: "Yes, he can come, he can pray with us." This is where the tradition of repentance comes from in the presence of a priest, but before the face of God.

Well, and the last thing I would like to say. Our lives become pleasing to God if we simply do good deeds. Many people need these good deeds - from those closest to us with whom we live, to those with whom we meet by the nature of our service, in different life circumstances. If we learn to do good, we will become happy people, because good multiplies good. This is what I would like to wish to myself, to you and to everyone who listens and sees us.

- Thank you sincerely for this important interview for all, Your Holiness. Thank.

Video recording of the conversation between the host and the patriarch.

Time: 43 minutes.

So that I would like to say the Christmas interview of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to watch online, I know that my words will be heard in Ukraine. All this struggle, including for the Cathedral Ukraine. For the preservation of its unity. But how can unity be maintained in this way? After all, those people who do not want to repeat the experience of the village of Ptichye, they will fight with all their might against the power that condones this kind of seizure of churches and the oppression of believers, does not come to their home. This means this kind of policy, it encourages the division of the Ukrainian people. Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, this is all stupid. You need to unite people. And you can unite, everyone knows this by the example of family relations, only by love. Openness, willingness to hear, make efforts to make everyone feel good. Calm down too zealous who are trying to rock the boat. Give others a chance to prove themselves. Unfortunately, nothing of the kind is happening in Ukraine today. I have only one hope that there is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a church of confessors, which today really unites the people. East and west, north and south, who humbly but courageously speaks the truth. Leads people to unification. But only in this way and only with this factor can the prosperous future of Ukraine be linked.

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Join the group - Dobrinsky temple

On January 7, 2017, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the TV channel "Russia 1" shows the traditional Christmas interview with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of the political observer of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, the host of the Vesti program A.O. Kondrashov.

- Your Holiness, thank you for the fact that we are meeting on these holidays. For the past few years, some test after test has simply been falling on Russia. So the past year has brought us a big one: people like you, the pride of our national life, symbols have died. How to answer the question that sounds both at work and at home, I very often hear it: why does God call the best to him? How can we find comfort?

- This question accompanies the entire human history. And whenever we come into contact with grief that really burns our nature - not some superficial, artificial, but real grief that our soul touches - we ask this question.

I am ready to voice some thoughts now, but the first thing I would like to do is to express my deepest condolences again and again to all those who are first of all burned by this suffering, this grief. And the family of our wonderful in Turkey, and the relatives of all those who died in the Tu-154. And if we talk about the ways of God, then the word of God says: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways” (Isa. 55: 8). It is impossible for us to understand what is happening in terms of our logic and our concept of justice. God leads the human race and each of us in His own way. What is tragedy for us is not tragedy for God, because God is in eternity. He knows what happens to a person after death. But while we are here, while we are in the body, while we are limited by our logic, our attitude to what is grief and what is happiness, we, of course, will never be able to fully answer the question that you are now asking me ...

I think that finding the answer to these questions lies not in the rational plane, but in the spiritual life of a person, when suddenly in prayer he feels relief, when, through the commemoration of the dead, something opens up in front of him that he suddenly begins to feel in his heart and calm down. That is why I always urge people and now I would like to once again, addressing the loved ones of those who died, say: you need to pray especially hard for the repose of the dead and that the Lord would calm souls. The Church prays for this, many people in our country and abroad are praying, because what happened really became a grief for our people.

- Your Holiness, last year you visited a number of large European states, such as France, England, and met not only with the flock, but also with the leaders of these states. What are your impressions of these meetings? After all, we, on the one hand, seem to have a common Christian principle, but in recent years we have seen a harsh de-Christianization in Europe. Do we have something left to rely on and follow the path of rapprochement, or are we already apart for a long time?

- What remains of the Christian heritage continues to be what can unite us. Nothing else can unite us. What is happening in Europe, after all, did not collapse at the end of the 20th or the beginning of the 21st century - it was ripening in the depths of historical development, which at some point (and we know that this moment is called the Age of Enlightenment in history) began to exclude God from human life and equip human life exclusively on a rational basis. It seemed to many that this is the right way, that God is an outdated concept, and in general, as the agnostics say, it does not concern us, whether He exists or not, let's arrange life exclusively rationally.

Much has been achieved on this path, but historical development that excludes God is not viable. A remarkable example of the collapse of such a historical development, of such an experience in the organization of life is our own post-revolutionary history. We have thrown out God, we have abandoned everything that was sacred and was ideal for us. Relying on the strength of reason, the strength of the organization, the strength of the party, the strength of the army, the strength of everything that was in our hands, we have not been able to build a just and prosperous society that we wanted to build based on this rationalism.

The same is happening now in the West. We are faced with the collapse of our atheistic idea at the end of the 20th century, and I think that now there is a critical reappraisal of rationalism in Western Europe. Of course, the establishment, the political elites associated with big business, the media, the education system are working as usual and trying to reproduce these phantoms. But the soul of the people, the human conscience, the real experience of life tells people that this is the wrong way, and if we say that today all of Europe is de-Christianized, we will say something very wrong.

- Probably, this power is de-Christianized ...

- Elites, authorities, those who wish to control social processes are powerful forces associated with finance, the media, and the political establishment. And the life of the people is still different from what appears, as it were, in the window of the Western world. Therefore, I am deeply convinced that if, as you said, the remnants of the Christian heritage are preserved, then they can become a common value basis for rapprochement between the East and West of Europe. There simply cannot be any other basis, by definition.

- But how close can we be brought together by some common troubles, like at the fair in Berlin, the dastardly murder of our ambassador in Ankara?

- Maybe, but this rapprochement will never be organic. Let me give you an example. The war and the fight against fascism brought the Soviet Union closer to the Western coalition. The last volleys of the Second World War had not yet died down, and Truman began to hatch plans for the nuclear destruction of the Soviet Union. What is it? After all, we shed blood together. Meeting on the Elbe - after all, it was not a fake manifestation of feelings, and not just allied feelings, but friendship, respect, military brotherhood. It would seem that now mutual understanding has been ensured for many years, but everything disappeared very quickly. This does not mean that it is not necessary to fight together; on the contrary, it is necessary to fight together.

- Why don't they want to help us in the common fight against terrorism?

- Well, this is an exclusively political topic. They do not want to, because the fight against terrorism is understood by many as one of the tools to influence the world in terms of achieving their own political goals. And if the phenomenon of terrorism begins to be used as a tool to achieve their own political goals, then there will be no real fight against terrorism. We are clearly faced with this today in the Middle East. What has been happening lately, the fact that Russia has managed to organize a coalition in the fight against terrorism in Syria, of course, is a remarkable phenomenon in modern political life. I sincerely wish the victory over terrorism to be truly achieved - first in Syria, and then wherever terrorism raises its head.

But I will say it again: peoples are drawing closer together, organically coming together when there is a community — not only a struggle, but a community of values. And I would like to emphasize once again: it is the Christian heritage that is the value community that gives hope for a true rapprochement between East and West. If this phenomenon disappears from Western life, if it is really destroyed, then we will lose everything. There will no longer be any commonality of values, and pragmatism will not go far, be it economic, political, or even military pragmatism.

- Your Holiness, we all know that both the Russian Orthodox Church and you personally spent a lot of energy fighting for the life of unborn babies. Women often say that the reason is material insecurity, but we know that in fact the problem is broader. This is our way of life. Someone needs to finish their studies, someone needs to find a job, but they have found a job - now they need to make a career. All once, once, once ... How deep is this problem today? And how to make sure that we have fewer abortions and more children?

- Yes, everything depends on ourselves, on our inner world, on our goal-setting, because everyone wants to make a career to one degree or another, in one area or another, and it is desirable that this career be accompanied by an increase in material well-being - all this is perfect fine.

Now let's ask the question: what should a person take to make a career? First of all, he must learn to manage himself. He must learn self-restraint. Someone wants to go dancing, while someone prepares for exams very seriously. Someone wants to spend a vacation, liberating themselves and enjoying life, while someone at this time loads themselves with additional tasks, some problems that they need to solve, preparing themselves for a successful career.

Let me give you an example from the Soviet past. I had many acquaintances from the scientific world, from the medical world, and many of these wonderful specialists wrote their doctoral theses in the kitchen, in small Khrushchev apartments. Isn't this a feat? Isn't this self-restraint? And what if they refused to write these doctoral dissertations and said: "Yes, I can't in the kitchen, here they are knocking with pans, the kids are running around"? But this self-restraint led to a brilliant career ...

- And what discoveries! We still use it!

- To discoveries. So, it's the same with children. In the name of a career, you cannot relieve yourself of the tasks that face you as a person. You must go to self-restraint. Yes, a child appears - of course, the expenditure of time, effort, mental energy, limitations in comfort. But without such a limitation, there can be no human growth. Therefore, when they tell me that in order to be happy, you need to have an abortion, I answer: this is a terrible delusion. You will not be happy if, while providing your living space, you go to kill the child. That is why it is important to rebuild consciousness. It is necessary that everyone understands: without self-restraint, without heroic deeds, without sacrifice, the human personality cannot take place. This means that a real career will not take place. Ask any successful person: how did you manage to achieve this? And the answer will be this: through labor and self-restraint. This is a sine qua non for human growth. And God grant that this understanding deeply entered the consciousness of our people.

I would like to say the same about one more thing. There is no love without self-restraint. Love is always accompanied by sacrifice. If a person is unable to give himself to another, then there is no love. The ability of self-restraint in love is the real test of whether you love a person or not. If you cannot do anything for him, there is no love, no matter how attractive this person is to you - externally, emotionally or in some other way.

Therefore, all this is very closely connected - sacrifice, self-restraint, exploit, career, love and human happiness. And the preservation of the child in this entire system is a very important factor in determining the fullness of human life.

- Your Holiness, at the end of last year, with your participation, as well as with the participation of the Primate, we witnessed how Ukraine received its prisoner of war. He was, and without any conditions - such a very kind and revealing gesture. Please tell me how you think the Church in Ukraine will play at least some role in the process of national reconciliation? After all, in principle, probably, Ukrainians still believe in God - for example, in which so many people took part. But is national reconciliation itself possible now? Is there anyone to help?

- I will say more: if national reconciliation begins, it will be precisely because the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has taken the position that it occupies. This is the only correct position. In reality, there is a civil war, civil confrontation, the country is divided. There are civil contradictions that have historical, religious, cultural reasons - we will not go into this now - and no dictatorial approach to regulating public life can remove these contradictions. The Orthodox Church understands that these contradictions exist, but it is necessary to live together, otherwise the country will really be scattered to pieces. And the Orthodox Church is this peacemaking force, her flock is both in the east and in the west. After all, the procession began both from the east and the west: both there and there tens of thousands of people! It was a symbol and a sign that the potential for peacemaking is preserved, for the creation of a just and peaceful life in Ukraine. But I must say that we all must work for this reconciliation. I understand that some events on the territory of Ukraine, which the media report to us, arouse a feeling of protest in people. But it is very important that this feeling of protest does not develop into a feeling of hatred. And it is very important that the media cover Ukrainian topics in this way so that a negative, negative, hostile attitude towards Ukraine does not arise among our people. And all this unfavorable political context will pass.

- That is, you think that what is above now, this foam will come off?

- It will all pass. The Ukrainian and Great Russian people will remain. We were always together, we were one people, then these people dispersed to different apartments. But we remain people who are united by a single faith, a single history and common values. And everything must be done so that hostility and negative attitude towards the people does not arise in the hearts of people. It is this work of reconciliation that our Church serves. We pray for each service that the Lord would pour out His mercy on the Ukrainian people and stop civil confrontation. And we are trying to educate and, I think, not without success, our people in love for their brothers and sisters living in Ukraine. This is the only way to maintain the close bond that has bound us for centuries. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is doing the same, despite very difficult conditions.

- Our Church over the centuries of existence has created all the prerequisites for our great Russian culture to flourish. In recent months, a strange conflict has suddenly surfaced - of course, you've heard of it. Conflict between creative people: some are against the idea that creativity has some kind of framework; on the other hand, those who believe that such a framework should exist because some of their ideas about good are violated. Moreover, sometimes the latter fight by their own methods, sometimes even by force. Someone prohibits some performances, someone criticizes films, and so far neither one nor the other has reconciled with each other. How do you think, Your Holiness, to seek a compromise, how to reconcile them?

- I think Brodsky said: all creativity is a prayer. All creativity is in the ears of the Almighty, this is what is directed towards Him. Figurative expression, but it speaks of the most important thing. Creativity and culture should elevate the human personality. If a production, a film, a work of art, a literary work lifts a person, if it gives him the strength to love, sacrifice, work, respect another, then this is genuine culture. These samples of cultural creativity cultivate the human personality, elevate it.

But to be honest, many works of so-called modern culture turn a person into a beast, liberate instincts, encourage the most vile manifestations human nature... Can we call culture that which destroys the human personality, that which transforms the human community into a herd, into a flock of animals? After all, each of us knows examples of films and books that liberate the Dionysian principle in a person, this black energy. And if people, due to religious, ideological, cultural and historical principles, disagree with such works of culture and art, why should they be silent? Silence tramples on God. Silence tramples on the truth. There are times when you cannot be silent. Another conversation is that this should not turn into acts of vandalism, violence. This is quite obvious.

If we shut the mouth of a person who, based on his understanding of what is good and evil, protests against the manifestations of so-called creativity, then we will make a huge mistake. Another conversation is that all this discourse should be introduced into a civilized field. But what needs to be done for this? Of course, now everyone is paying attention to those who protest radically, and not to those who provoke these radical protests. Let me give you an example. The famous exhibition in the Manezh is the works of Vadim Sidur. A couple of months before this exhibition, some official in the Ministry of Culture signs an order declaring these blasphemous images as works of art. And then an exhibition is held in the center of Moscow. What it is? Direct provocation. So, if we punish only those who protest, and do not figure out when and how these images became works of art, why they were exhibited in Moscow, then we will have a one-sided approach to the topic.

But I am for freedom of creativity, for freedom of expression. Something in images on religious themes may not be quite convenient for my perception, but I respect the work of real artists, and in this sense, the Church has always been very sensitive and always knew the boundaries of expressing her disagreement. Therefore, I am for freedom of creativity, for the absence of censorship, but also for mutual respect, for the fight against both vandalism and provocations.

- Your Holiness, now such a life, a frantic rhythm, time seems to be compressed. Such a number of events happen over a certain period of time - it seems to me that this has never happened, and we are in this rhythm. And still against the backdrop of a gigantic information noise, wars that in one way or another concern not only journalists, but all people. We are all indignant at how much injustice towards Russians is being spoken in the world now. This noise, noise, rhythm, rhythm - there is no time to stop, think. Please teach, advise, Your Holiness, how to stop and at least for a second comprehend the very holiday of the Nativity of Christ, the meaning of the very event of the birth of Christ for all mankind and for individuals, for each of us.

- A person must have some kind of shelter. During the war, the shelter saves from physical death. We are constantly in incredible turbulence, you are right. The information flow brings colossal force to our homes, to our families, to our consciousness, to our souls, the conflicts of the world around us. A colossal effect is exerted on the human psyche, his nervous system and, of course, moral feelings. If you are constantly in conditions of this turbulence, then it really threatens with very negative consequences for a person. And we know how neuroses develop, how mental illnesses develop, how the human body cannot cope with stress, how the number of suicides increases, including among young people. For me, the temple of God has always been a refuge. When you come to the temple, everything, as it were, remains outside its walls. You find yourself in an atmosphere where the influence of God's grace is especially felt, when a person begins to think not about what is outside the church, but about what is in his heart, what is in his soul, when he turns to God with his innermost things. Moreover, this can happen both during service and outside it. A lot of people just come during the day, light a candle, stand, be silent, think, take a little respite in this whirlwind. And if you can't go to the temple (sometimes there is not enough time for this, even when the temple is very close and on the way), then you need to have that time at home. Believers call this prayer time - at the beginning and at the end of the working day. Prayer helps to calm down, focus, gain strength. It is no coincidence that there are people who devote their whole lives to prayer. Not because they want to impose some unbearable burden on themselves, but because there is such a need in a person.

Well, and Christmas is a special time, because everything that surrounds us reminds us of this event: both solemn services and the way the people celebrate this event. Therefore, these days we should especially feel God's presence. And I would like everyone who hears and sees us today to wish a Merry Christmas - in the sense that this holiday would really give us the opportunity to experience heartfelt happiness, joy, peace and quiet. Without this, human life loses its fullness, and no matter how difficult the circumstances of external life, it is very important to find strength in oneself, including touching the holy, bright and joyful, to influence one's soul so that there is more peace, goodness in it. and the truth.

- Thank you, Your Holiness. Happy Holidays!

- Thank you. Happy Holidays!

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

Condolences of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in connection with the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand [Patriarch: Messages]

People who tried to set fire to the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were detained in Zaporozhye

[Article]

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill met with the Secretary General of the United Nations

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: It is impossible to lead a religious life from a distance [Interview]

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Physical handicaps are not an obstacle to communion with God [Interview]

With the support of the Synodal Department for Charity in the Urzhum Diocese, an aid point for pregnant women in a crisis situation was opened

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill met with President of the Evangelical Association Billy Graham F. Graham

The Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Family Issues spoke at the II Hippocratic Medical Forum

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Spiritual and moral criteria in art are important for the Church [Interview]

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an annual Christmas dinner with church officials

The Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus and the Minister of Health of the Republic of Belarus visited the Republican Scientific and Practical Center of Pediatric Oncology

The largest Christmas fair in the South of Russia "Don Orthodox" is being held in Rostov-on-Don

The TV channel "Russia 1" showed a traditional Christmas interview with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The rector of the Russian Orthodox Church answered the questions of Dmitry Kiselev, a journalist and TV presenter, general director of the Russia Today MIA.

- Of course, every person is unique - no two people are alike. And each country is unique. This factor is formed under the influence of various circumstances. If we talk about Russia, these are its size, climate, history, and so on. But there is something that underlies the motivation of the vast majority of people: when they listen to the inner voice, which we call the voice of conscience.

I think that the uniqueness of Russia lies in the fact that, although it sometimes created problems, our country is conscientious. And I will give some examples, very vivid and well-known to many, when conscientiousness prevailed over pragmatism. For example, the Crimean War, the defense of Orthodoxy in the Holy Land, Nicholas the First. Some of our viewers will say: "Yes, but it was a geopolitical program." However, it was not geopolitical ideas that inspired people to defend shrines and Orthodox Christians in the Holy Land, but conscience. And the Balkan Wars under Alexander II? Thousands of ordinary Russian people went to fight for the Slavic brothers. And along with them - and difficult, and generals, and members of the royal family. Is this just pragmatism? Is it possible for a person to die in the name of pragmatism? Never! Moving towards danger in order to protect, also because of the call of conscience. And Nicholas II and the beginning of the First World War, when the Russians stood up to protect the Serbian brothers? But someone can also say that this is pragmatism. But would people go to fight only for his sake? Therefore, in the history of Russia, conscientiousness is very clearly visible.

— Many believe that Russia is trying to play a disproportionate role in the world. And this even has some risks for our country. So is the cross capable of?

The unity of the peoples of Russia, the strengthening and harmonization of interethnic relations were discussed at a press conference in the format of a video bridge Moscow - Simferopol - Kazan, which took place today, on November 3, at the press center of the Rossiya Segodnya MIA.

- The cross is not supposed to be abandoned - this is how the Orthodox Church teaches. If Russia accepts this cross, then God will give the strength to bear it. The most important thing is that the moral dimension in politics, which we have just talked about with you, should never be absorbed exclusively by pragmatic goals that are far from morality. And if in our politics, life and social order we strive for the triumph of justice, for the moral feeling of people to be calm, then, undoubtedly, we will have to bear some kind of cross. We will not go into details, but, of course, there are people in the world who disagree with this position. But I want to repeat once more: if God lays on the cross, then he also gives strength to bear it. And the very fact of bearing this cross is of great importance for the whole world, for the entire human community. And no matter how they try to present our (including foreign) policy in different colors, it will be attractive for many people in the world as long as it maintains this moral dimension.

- And yet you recently spoke about the apocalypse. The responses were very different. We know how to interpret, you know. But still, what to prepare for and how?

- The Apocalypse is the end of history, and Patriarch Kirill did not invent it.

The Bible clearly states that the end of history will come. And in general, this is a very logical story. After all, every person will die at some point. Many people are concerned about the end of the world, but they do not realize that our own end and end of the world are separated by a very specific period of time, as the Bible says. Seventy years, 80 at the most. But if you are too strong, then 90. What is it? It is a moment.

By the way, there is some kind of incomprehensible, but apparently not random pattern. People who adhere to liberal views do not like very much when the Church raises two topics: about the devil and the end of the world. The question is why such a reaction occurs. And it arises for the same reason that in modern culture, so to speak, they try to push aside the theme of death, which is present in many films as entertainment. But we do not like a serious understanding of the human end. And they don't like to talk about death. And not only in our country, but also in the West, there is even more. There, in general, the coffin is not opened during the funeral ceremony of farewell, whether in the temple or elsewhere. And the less we talk about it, the calmer it is for everyone. And why? But because the theme of the end requires philosophical reflection. And when a person begins to think about his own end or about the end of history, he comes to conclusions directly related to the religious factor.

And now, in essence. How could the end of the world ever come? When human society ceases to be viable, resources for existence will be exhausted. When can this happen? In the event that the total reign of evil comes. And where will this lead? Evil is not viable, and the system in which it prevails cannot exist. And if evil grows and drives good out of human life, then the end will come.

Why should we talk about it today? Today we are going through a special historical period. Never before has humanity put good and evil on the same level. There was a desire to justify evil. But there has never been an attempt to say that good and evil are not absolute truths. In the minds of people, both good and evil were absolute truths. And today they have become relative.

When can evil grow uncontrollably in human society? It is when this point of view, when good and evil are on the same board, will triumph on a global scale. And since today we are not even at the beginning of this process, but a certain period of time has passed, some history has already been exhausted, then how can the Church not talk about this, how can not ring the bells and warn about that we have entered the dangerous path of self-destruction? Who will say this if not the Church?

“But we have had periods in history when good and evil were indistinguishable. An example is the murder of a royal family. We will be celebrating our 100th anniversary soon. By remembering, by the need to rethink this fact. But what does this date mean? And when they finally end all kindsexpertise?

- I'll start with the last part of your question. The examinations will end when the specialists complete them and present the results. No one deliberately delays this process, but no one specifically urges scientists who are trying to comprehensively answer the questions that constantly arise. You know that a conference was held at the Sretensky Monastery, at which I was present, and it was extremely important for me to hear the reports of scientists on the work done, and the questions that were raised to them. When the experts said: "We do not have a ready-made answer. We are not sure, we still need to investigate something that will open up the possibility to come to definitive conclusions."

When this happens, then we will make decisions at the Bishops' Council, taking into account, of course, the opinions of those people who may still have questions.

And now - in general about the tragedy that happened, the tragedy of regicide. Here I am concerned with one question that I want to raise. Maybe there will besomeone capable answer it. In 1905, at the end of the first revolution, the emperor adopted a manifesto, which opened up the possibilities for the realization of the broadest freedoms. A multi-party system, the State Duma, is being created. This opportunity was opened not by the revolution, but by the tsar. After all, there were those who said that this should not be done. To win this revolution, you need to break all opposition. And the king went to meet those who wanted to change the political system in the country. He discovered these possibilities. The Duma turned, first of all, into an arena not so much for resolving political issues as in an arena of struggle around the tsar and autocracy. No matter what they said about him!

It is now widely believed that the king was weak. But let's think: was he a weak person or an internally strong person? After all, he could finish state Duma with one clap, disperse all parties, reintroduce censorship - he had real political power. And he didn't use it. Our liberal historians still throw mud at Nicholas II and extol Alexander II. And from the point of view of opening up opportunities for democratic discussion of problems, participation in the formation of state policy, who did more: Alexander II or Nicholas II? Of course, Nicholas II. And now he is overthrown. As he himself said, betrayal is all around. He is overthrown, then the whole family is brutally destroyed. The name is mixed with mud. And even those who treat him without much negative say, well, he was weak. You just have to, as it were, historically sympathize with everything that happened to Russia and its last emperor. Now, if he were a weak person, he would not have accepted death so courageously.

The royal family was canonized not because Nicholas II was a good ruler, wise diplomat and military strategist. He is glorified precisely because he accepted death in a Christian way. And not only death, but this whole terrible part of his life. He was under arrest, suffered insults, harassment. He is yesterday's king who lost everything. And at the same time such calm diaries, such a truly Christian view of what was happening to him. And this was inherent not only to him, but to all family members.

This means that regardless of the political assessment of his activities, people should have respect for this life path, especially liberal people. But nothing like that happens. And even in the year of the century of revolutionary events, nothing appeared on the screens - only a film that throws another dirt into the face of the passion-bearer. That's why people resented this movie. Well, really nothing else was found? And again, this picture seems to have emerged from liberal circles. And where are the merits of the emperor?

In my answer, I do not give any analysis of his political activities, I do not sum up the results of his rule. I just react to a very important part of his life connected with the opening of freedoms and rights for the citizens of the Russian Empire and how his life ended. And in this sense, of course, everything that happened to the sovereign emperor and our country should make us think about a lot.

- Not everyone, however, had enough of the revolution. IN civil war, which is now in Ukraine, is being killed every day. The Russian Orthodox Church is praying for Ukraine, for healing the schism, but what else can be done?

- Prayer itself- this is a very strong moment. I understand that non-religious people cannot understand this. But those who go through the experience of prayer know that heaven answers. I have said many times that if our boss deceived us once, we can forgive, justify. If we, having come to the office and asked the boss for something, did not receive an answer or help for the second time, then we are already beginning to be very skeptical about the possibilities of such a contact. But if we were deceived the third time, this is where it ends.

Throughout his life, a person constantly turns to prayer to God and remains a believer until the end of his days. This means that he received the answer that the sky is not closed to him. And when we say that we are praying for peace, for the reconciliation of people in Ukraine, for overcoming the fratricidal conflict, we also invest in this our confidence that the Lord will at some point bow mercy to the Ukrainian people. And internecine strife will stop.

But besides, of course, our Ukrainian Orthodox Church plays a very significant role. Today it is the only peacekeeping force in Ukraine. After all, her flock is in the East, and in the West, and in the center. The church cannot serve the political interests of groups, parties, or geographic areas of a country. It is designed to carry a message to everyone that can transform the minds and hearts of people, including promoting reconciliation.

As for our entire Church, we tried to the best of our ability to facilitate the return of the prisoners. By the grace of God, on the eve of the New Year and the Nativity of Christ, a massive exchange of prisoners of war took place, although not as we would like. Therefore, we believe that this is the first stage of the prisoner of war exchange program, in the implementation of which our Church has been actively involved from the very beginning to the present day.

- Another hot spot- Syria. Many Christians died there during the war. Did you manage to help them with something? So, what is next? This is not only Syria, this is the entire Middle East.

- Already in 2014 it became clear that the developing conflicts in Syria are provoked by such radical forces, which, having come to power, will begin by eliminating the Christian presence in this country. That is why Christians actively supported Assad and his government. Because a certain balance of power was ensured in the country and, which is very important, people felt they were protected. In 2014, despite some warnings that it was dangerous, I still decided to go to Syria. I was in Damascus, performed divine services there and saw what was the enthusiasm of the people. Talking with Muslims, Christians and politicians, I realized that the main concern of the people was that if the radicals of the Islamic flood came to power in Syria, then the first to suffer from this would be Christians. What happened in Iraq will happen: 85 percent of Christians are either destroyed or expelled from the country.

Even during the Hussein regime, I visited Iraq, including its northern parts, and was in Mosul. He visited the most ancient Christian monasteries. I saw the piety of the people and was glad that Christian churches calmly exist in the Muslim environment. Now there is practically nothing left of this. Monasteries were destroyed, temples were blown up. This could have happened in Syria. Therefore, of course, the participation of Russia, in addition to resolving some issues in which I am not fully competent and therefore do not consider it possible to say anything, but I will briefly say about the stabilization of the situation. preventing military threats, preventing terrorists from taking power.

Here was a very important idea.- protection of the Christian minority. Back in 2013, when the heads of local Orthodox churches arrived in Moscow to celebrate the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, when meeting with Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, one of the strongest messages concerned the request that Russia take part in protecting Christians in the Middle East. And I am glad that it happened. And thanks to the participation of Russia, the genocide of Christians was prevented.

And now the question of restoring peace, justice, security arisesin this country, there is an opportunity to solve many economic problems. But what is especially close to us is the restoration of churches, monasteries, monuments, including Muslim and antique ones. Our church participates in the provision of humanitarian aid. We work both on our own behalf and participate in such a common Christian action, which was formed at the site of the Interreligious Council of Russia. And besides, we also have bilateral agreements with the Catholic Church to provide humanitarian aid together. There are different areas of our interaction. I hope that we will do our bit to provide real help to those who are not yet suffering in Syria.

- The following question is logical in this regard. Now the volunteer movement is becoming popular. But a priest is essentially a volunteer. In addition to praying, he is also engaged in a lot of other things. Well, what about now, except that we are helping Christians in Syria? And what is happening here, on our territory?

- Here Maxim the Confessor connects two concepts - love and will. Strong-willed qualities of a person. If love fertilizes will, we say about such people that this is a person of good will. Everything that volunteers do is a manifestation of goodwill. This is when volitional efforts are reinforced by feelings of pity, compassion and love.

For the Russian Church, the creation of volunteer movements is very important. Historically, it turned out that in difficult conditions, especially during the atheistic period in our country, any system of solidarity within Orthodox parishes was destroyed. People could not freely meet, converse, create any organizations. All of this was prohibited and strictly controlled. And contributed to the development of such religious individualism. I come to church and, in fact, the same thing happens as when I am at home: I myself pray, I turn to God.

And everything that surrounds me does not directly concern me. And the creation of volunteer movements in almost most parishes, if we talk about Moscow, destroys this individualism. People begin to recognize themselves as a community. And they direct joint efforts to fulfill those tasks that they must solve, including at the call of their conscience and their Christian vocation.

The volunteer movement among young people has a very great perspective. You know, this changes the climate and, I think, not only in the Orthodox communities, but also in our society.

- In a little over two months in Russia there will be presidential and head of state elections. How does the Church view elections?

- The Church has a very positive attitude. Because elections existed in the Church earlier than in the state. Patriarchs were chosen and by the grace of God they are still elected.

But, besides, our councils also make decisions on the basis of voting. Therefore, voting and elections are inherent in the Church. If this is permissible in the Church, why should believers believe that this is unacceptable in secular society? It is not just acceptable, but very much should be welcomed when the people take part in the election, including their supreme leader or their representatives to parliament. For some, this is the only opportunity to somehow influence the situation. Many believe that it is impossible to influence: I am alone, there are millions of people. But this is not at all the case. Voices of millions are created from voices of units. Therefore, I would urge everyone, including Orthodox people, to take part in the upcoming presidential elections. It is very important.

- Your Holiness, but President Putin sets the task of building a digital economy in Russia. Where is the Church here?

- We associate the topic of digital economy with two concepts. We have it in the Church. On the one hand, there is the concept of efficiency; secular people, especially managers, insist on this. Undoubtedly, the introduction of digital technologies will ensure greater efficiency in the decision-making process. Which, of course, is good. But the Church also has another concept - security. And it's not just about the ability of malicious people or forces to use digital technology to cause irreparable damage to a country, society, or someone. But this is all the technological level. And now I would talk about the spiritual level. The Church is very concerned about the fact that modern technical means are able to totally limit human freedom. Here's a small example.

We have hotheads who are enthusiastic about the need to eliminate cash and switch only to electronic cards. This will provide transparency, control and so on - arguments that many are familiar with. And all this is so. What if, at some point in historical development, access to these cards will be opened in response to your loyalty?

Today, in order to obtain citizenship in one of the European countries, people who live there and wish to obtain citizenship or a residence permit are offered to watch a video that tells about the country's life, customs and laws. And in this video this whole LGBT topic is very vividly presented. In paints. At the end of the viewing they ask the question: "Do you agree with all this?" If a person says: “Yes, I agree, I accept, this is all right for me,” he passes the screening. And he will either become a citizen or receive a residence permit. And if not, it won't. What if access to finance is limited by such conditions? These are the dangers the Church is talking about today with a loud voice.

- Let's get back to the Christmas theme. These days, of course, tables are laid. And the difference is visible. Someone, so to speak, lacks lobsters, but someone is happy and a chocolate bar. And yet we are talking about the unity of society. Although the stratification is evident. But isn't this unity stupid?

- The stratification of society is a huge problem, all of which is present in our lives today. Socialism tried to solve this problem. But let's be honest: he didn't solve it. I also found the testimony of my aunt, who in the 50s lived in a village that did not have a passport and who miraculously somehow escaped to Leningrad to visit relatives. She talked about the dire situation in the village at that time. And all this was in a socialist society. Therefore, the problem of social imbalances has always existed.

But the stability of society and justice in society, which we talked about from the very beginning today, depends primarily on bridging this gap. The deeper it is, the more destabilization, the more negative energy arises. The more people reject everything that happens in society, in the country, the more criticism. Therefore, this topic has a political, social and spiritual dimension. But this, of course, is a challenge for the authorities - legislative and executive. But you cannot put up with what you said. It is necessary to set the task of overcoming these contradictions. Once again I want to say that there will always be rich and poor. But it is very important that the gap narrows. And so that the concept of poverty does not mean the hardest situation of a person, on the verge of survival.

Of course, the condition of many pensioners is also alarming, as well as the fact that many people at the end of their lives lose their homes, they are thrown out into the street by black racketeers, businessmen who seize apartments. The state must have a very clear system that would insure people against this kind of life situations. And God forbid that the development of the economy and correct domestic politics helped to overcome these huge divisions between the wealthy and the poor. And so that justice more and more penetrates into the depths of our national life.

- Congratulations on the holiday, Your Holiness.

- I would like from the bottom of my heart to congratulate our viewers on the come Christmas. The world we live in is not easy. And our conversation has highlighted many of the problems. But what would I like to say. The Nativity of Christ, in general, the coming into the world of the Savior is the beginning of a new era, a new era. This is an event that gives a person tremendous strength and strengthens his optimism.

At Christmas services, we sing the wonderful hymn "God is with us." This is biblical words. God is with us, understands the tongue, that is, understand, peoples. Because God is with us. Indeed, through the coming into the world of the Savior, God is with us. And by establishing a connection with the Lord, we are able to acquire very great strength to solve problems in our personal, family, and social life. Therefore, may the blessing of God be over all our people and over our country.

- Thank you very much for this amazing interview.

- Your Holiness, thank you for this traditional Christmas interview. But this year our conversation differs from all previous ones in that Russia is fighting. How should a believer relate to this? It is clear that we are talking primarily about Orthodox Christians, but also about Muslims.

- Killing a person is a sin. Cain killed Abel, and, having embarked on the path of committing sin, humanity found itself in a situation where a violent way of influencing an individual, a group of people, and countries quite often turns out to be a means and a way of resolving conflicts. This, of course, is the most extreme and most sinful way. But the Gospel contains amazing words, the essence of which is that blessed is he who gives his life for another (see John 15:13).

What does this mean? This means that engaging in certain activities that could lead to death may be justified. The Gospel clearly describes when this is possible - when you give your life for others. Strictly speaking, this is what the idea of \u200b\u200ba just war is based on. Even Blessed Augustine tried to describe the parameters of such a war in the distant V century. Now, perhaps, there are slightly different ideas, but the essence remains the same: military actions are justified when they protect a person, society, and the state.

What is happening today in seemingly distant Syria, which in fact is not distant at all, is literally our neighbor - this is the defense of the Fatherland. Many are now clearly talking about this, because if terrorism wins in Syria, it has a huge chance, if not to defeat, then extremely darken the life of our people, bring misfortune and disaster. Therefore, this war is defensive - not so much even a war as point impacts. But, nevertheless, this is the participation of our people in hostilities, and as long as this war is defensive in nature, it is fair.

Besides, we all know very well what terrible misfortunes terrorism brings. Our people went through terrible trials - Beslan, Volgograd, it is impossible to list everything. We are burned by this pain, we know what it is. And our plane, which was shot down over Sinai? Therefore, all that happens is a defensive response. In this sense, we are boldly talking about a just fight.

Besides, there is another very important point. By our actions, we are participating in the salvation of so many people in Syria and the Middle East. I remember how in 2013, when we celebrated the 1025th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus, Patriarchs and representatives of all Local Orthodox Churches came to Moscow. We met with Vladimir Vladimirovich in the Kremlin, and the main topic was to save the Christian presence in the Middle East. This was a general appeal to the President. I do not want to say that this particular motive is decisive, but it is about protecting people who are unjustly destroyed as a result of terrorist acts - including, of course, the Christian community.

Therefore, like any war and any military action associated with the death of people, this war is a grief and can be a sin. But as long as it protects the lives of people and our country, we treat it as just actions aimed at achieving just goals.

- Your Holiness, you are talking about saving people, but this war (I mean the war in Syria and our military operation as a part of it) complicates the position of the Orthodox in the world - they are in any case associated with Russia ...

- As they say, there was nowhere to go further. The position of Christians in Syria, Iraq, and many other countries has reached an extreme. Today, Christians are the most oppressed religious community, and not only where clashes with Islamic extremists occur, but also in many other places, including prosperous Europe, where the public manifestation of Christian feelings, for example, the open wearing of the cross, can lead to the fact that the person will be removed from work. We know how Christianity is being squeezed out of the public space - in many countries today the word "Christmas" is not used.

Christians are indeed in a very difficult situation, and what is happening now in Syria, it seems to me, will not worsen it. On the contrary, we know cases of return from captivity, we know cases of the liberation of Christians and entire Christian settlements, places of their compact residence. From the reaction that we receive from our fellows, it is clear that they look with hope at Russia's participation in this war of liberation, in these actions aimed at overcoming terrorism.

In that case, to what extent is what is happening in Syria now a religious war? How can you counter the fanatics who, they say, are driven by faith? What is the nature of this phenomenon?

- It has already become a commonplace to say that this is not a religious war, and I join this attitude towards this conflict. Let me give you a historical example. Relations between Christians and Muslims in history have not been cloudless. We know that there were cases of forced conversion to Islam and the conquest of the Christian territories of Byzantium. But if we leave out of the brackets the actual military actions, which were always accompanied by losses on both sides, then nothing like what is happening now in the Islamic world has never happened.

Take even the example of the Ottoman Empire. There was a certain order of relations between religious communities. Until now, in the hands of an Arab Muslim - the keys to the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher. This is all from the very Turkish times, when the Muslim was responsible for security, for keeping Christian relics. That is, such a method of interaction between communities was developed, which, of course, cannot be called the most favored nation regime, but people lived, performed their religious duties, there were patriarchies, the Church existed - and all this in antiquity, in the 1st millennium or in the so-called dark Middle Ages ...

But then came the enlightened times - the end of the XX and the beginning of the XXI century. And what do we see? The genocide of Christians, as we have just said, is the extermination of the Christian population. The presence of Christians in Iraq and Syria has decreased by an order of magnitude, people are fleeing from the fear of being destroyed by whole families ...

There is such a thing as fanaticism, that is, an idea brought to the point of absurdity. So, fanatics believe that they have the right to dispose of the fate of people, that is, to freely decide whether a Christian community exists or not - most often that it does not exist, because Christians are “unfaithful” and are subject to destruction. This fanatical idea itself, taken to the point of absurdity, is the opposite of a religious idea, contrary to God. God did not call to destroy anyone in the name of relations with Him, or, better to say, for the sake of manifesting religious feelings. Therefore, behind fanaticism, in the end, there is godlessness, only this is not understood by the dark mass of people who are involved in these terrible actions. To do so is to reject God and God's world.

- Are fanatics atheists?

- Fanatics are de facto atheists. Although they will talk about their belonging to the faith and even perform some religious rituals, but by convictions, by their views, these are people who deny His will and God's peace. It couldn't have been otherwise. In order to create a terrorist community, people need to be inspired to hatred, and hatred is not from God, it comes from another source. Therefore, when we talk about the so-called religious fanaticism, extremism and terrorism, we are talking about the phenomenon associated with the refusal of a person to be a believer and be in union with God.

- The world is split, and maybe the fight against terrorism is a chance for it? Can the fight against terrorism unite humanity, and if so, on what basis?

- Perhaps, tactically, he will reconcile some forces to solve common problems, but the struggle against someone can never unite. We need a positive agenda. We need a system of values \u200b\u200bthat would unite people, and let me take this opportunity today and say something about the phenomenon of religious terrorism that I have never said before.

How are people lured into the terrorist community? With money, drugs, some kind of promises - this whole, so to speak, non-idealistic factor works to the full. And there is no need to idealize everyone who joins this community. Many are driven by extremely tough pragmatic interests - to cash in, conquer, steal, seize. The same use of Syrian oil fully testifies to the presence of greed and conquest.

But there are also people who are honest, or at least those who join the ranks of terrorists for really religious reasons. I am sure that there is, because people respond to the call of extremists most often in mosques, after prayer, but how can you influence a person who has just prayed to force him to take up arms? It is necessary to bind his religious feelings, his faith with completely concrete arguments aimed, among other things, at participation in military operations and on everything else that accompanies terrorist activities. And what can be an argument - have we ever thought about it? "You become a fighter for the caliphate." - "What is a caliphate?" “And this is a society where faith, God is at the center, where religious laws prevail. You are creating a new civilization in relation to the one that is now established in the world - godless, secular and also radical in your secularism. "

We now see that this godless civilization is really advancing, including on the rights of people, which are proclaimed almost the highest value - but you cannot wear a cross. Parades of sexual minorities can be held, this is welcome, and the million-strong demonstration of French Christians in defense of family values \u200b\u200bis dispersed by the police. If you call an unconventional relationship a sin, as the Bible tells us, and you are a priest or a pastor, then you may not only be deprived of the opportunity to serve, but also go to prison.

I can continue to continue to give just terrible examples of how this godless civilization comes. And that's what the finger is pointing at to young people who are seduced by extremists. "Look what they are building a world - a devilish world, and we invite you to build the world of God." And they respond to this, for this they go to give their lives. Then they can use drugs and anything, but in order to arouse a person to fight, you must first show him the enemy. That is what they do, calling specific addresses and saying why certain people are enemies in relation to you, and perhaps in relation to the entire human race.

Therefore, reconciliation must not be based on the fight against terrorism. We all need to think about the ways of development of human civilization, we all need to think about how to combine the modern scientific and technical or, as they say now, post-industrial society with those spiritual and religious values \u200b\u200bwithout which a person cannot live. You can oppress the Church, push it back, you can deprive people of the opportunity to pursue their religious needs, but religious feelings cannot be killed, and this is well known.

It is necessary to combine human freedom with moral responsibility. It is necessary to give every person the opportunity to live in accordance with God's law. It is not necessary to restrict the manifestation of religious feelings, and at the same time it is not necessary to limit the freedom of human choice. If we can connect all these constituent parts, then we will build a viable civilization. And if we fail, then we are doomed to constant struggle and constant suffering. It is impossible to try to build the future by tug of war, by the victory of one model over another, by creating some artificial forms of human community that do not correspond to either moral nature or religious feeling. And if mankind succeeds in achieving a moral consensus, if this moral consensus can somehow be incorporated into international law, into legislation, then there is a chance to build a just global civilization system.

- You are talking about a chance and you mentioned France. In France, after these terrible terrorist attacks in Paris, the national response to them was a call to prayer - and this is in a country where, according to statistics, Christians are already in the minority, less than half. So what was it? Seizing the chance you mentioned?

- It was a natural reaction of people. You know, the same thing happened after September 11 in New York - temples of all confessions and religions began to overflow with people. The same thing happened when the seemingly completely atheized Soviet society turned to God during the Great Patriotic War. The temples were overcrowded; As people who took part in the fighting told me, there was not a single atheist on the front line. When a person comes face to face with a danger that he cannot overcome on his own and even together with others, he turns to God - and he hears this God's answer! Otherwise, they would not have addressed Him.

Therefore, leading us through some trials, the Lord, of course, is waiting for our conversion. And in this sense, I very highly appreciate what is happening in our country today. I do not idealize what is happening, but I see how slowly, not without work, there is a certain convergence of the two principles in the life of our people, how there is a synthesis of the material, scientific, technical principle, people's aspiration for a prosperous life with the growth of their spiritual needs. I cannot say that we have achieved a lot. We may be at the very beginning of the path, but this is a very correct path. When I see young people, educated, prosperous, with a bright, strong faith in their hearts, you know, the soul rejoices. You see the image of the new Russia - in fact, it’s worth living for.

- Your Holiness, when you talk about our country, then, of course, we recognize Russia. On the other hand, you have more than one country, for example. Ukraine is also your country, and the Russian Orthodox Church every service raises prayers for Ukraine, for the suffering. How do you assess the processes taking place in Ukraine?

- For me, Ukraine is the same as Russia. There my people, the Church, which the Lord blessed me to lead in this historical period of time. This is my joy and my pain. This is the reason for sleepless nights and the reason for the high enthusiasm that sometimes visits me when I think of people who, with such strength and faith, defend their convictions, their right to remain Orthodox.

Of course, what is happening in Ukraine today fills the heart with anxiety. We are witnessing horror stories with the capture of temples. Ptichye village, Rivne region. Several women, two priests sit huddled together for several days - cold, electricity is off, there is no heat, no food, no water. Miraculously, one managed to make a phone call and we learned about what was going on inside. And around a roaring crowd demanding to throw out these people and transfer the temple that they built, which belongs to them, to another religious group, which we call schismatics, which does not belong to the canonical Church. The court stands for the rights of the believers of our Church, but no authorities protect these rights.

Maybe someone will say: “Well, what are you talking about a particular case? Look at the life of the country as a whole. " But what does this mean? People have chosen the so-called European path of development - well, they have chosen and chosen, no one is tearing the hair on their heads about this and no one is trying to interfere with this path. Well, go down this path! Is terror a factor in modern European life, with all its costs that we talked about? Is it possible in this way to attract people to the European path of development, when for many it is associated with blood and suffering? I'm not talking about the hunger and misfortune of many people ...

And this is what I would like to say, and I know that my words will be heard in Ukraine. All this struggle is going on, including for a catholic Ukraine, for the preservation of its unity. But how can unity be maintained in this way? After all, people who do not want to repeat the experience of the village of Ptichye - they will fight with all their might so that the power that condones such a seizure of churches and oppression of believers does not come to their home! This means that this kind of policy encourages the division of the Ukrainian people. Therefore, from a pragmatic point of view, it is stupid. It is necessary to unite people, but you can unite, which everyone knows from the example of family relations, only through love, openness, and readiness to hear. You need to make an effort to make everyone feel good, you need to calm down too zealous who are trying to rock the boat, you need to give others a chance to show themselves. But, unfortunately, nothing of the kind is happening in Ukraine today.

I have only one hope that there is a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a Confessor Church, which today really unites the people. Not a single political force unites the people, not a single political force works for conciliar Ukraine, especially those very loud-speaking people who proclaim the idea of \u200b\u200bconciliar Ukraine as their political program. They do not work for this program, but the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is working, which unites the East, West, North, and South, which humbly but courageously speaks the truth, which leads people to unification, and this is the only way and only with this unifying a factor can be linked to the prosperous future of Ukraine.

I pray for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry, for the episcopate of our Church, for the clergy, for the believing people, and I believe that in this way Ukraine will be preserved and will be a prosperous, peaceful, calm country, friendly towards its neighbors, open towards Europe. No one will feel bad from this, so God forbid that it be so.

- Ukraine is going through difficult times, not only in the spiritual, but also in the material sense. The people fell into poverty, and the economic crisis is affecting both Russia and many countries of the world. People who only yesterday considered themselves the middle class are becoming poorer and are beginning to feel poor, even if they are not living in poverty, but in the material sense they are worse than yesterday. They have a kind of low self-esteem, and recently such a worldview structure has developed that only a good life is valuable, and a bad life is not needed at all. This leads to the fact that someone may even commit suicide, someone falls into despair, gives up ... Still, the value of life - how does it change, and does it change, in the conditions of an economic crisis, in conditions of lack of something ?

- I think it all depends on what is inside the person. After all, we went through, and our parents went through the hardest periods, from an economic point of view, much more difficult than now. Now, in general, the severity is relative - a person earns a little more or less, only God forbid that the economic situation deteriorates, but in general today there is no tragedy in the country. Therefore, the faint of heart, internally weak, empty people are disappointed.

If you associate all your well-being only with money, if well-being is measured by the quality of your vacation, material living conditions, then the slightest reduction in consumption may seem like a monstrous tragedy. And what does it mean? This means that the person is not too resilient. He cannot always live in some particularly favorable conditions; and even if the conditions are materially favorable, then everything happens in his soul. And how often quite prosperous people go through a crisis of family life, through despair, how many suicides among rich and prosperous people!

The only thing to fight against, which should never be allowed, what we need to eradicate, is to eradicate poverty. There is a difference between poverty and misery. Dostoevsky says this very well in Crime and Punishment. There Marmeladov philosophizes about this, that poverty does not destroy pride, that is, a certain self-confidence, but poverty sweeps people out of human communication ...

- "Poverty is not a vice, poverty is a vice" ...

- Indeed, poverty throws a person out of society. Who will communicate with the unfortunate vagrant who sleeps on the street, who will let him into the house? A poor man, neatly dressed, intelligent, will be allowed in, and they will talk, and will be hired, but the beggar is all, he is an outcast. But this is our people, these are not some aliens who have descended to us. And if you delve into the history of these poor people? Often they were happy a year or two ago, but different circumstances - raider seizure of an apartment, loss of job, loss of health - lead to this state.

Therefore, one of our national tasks should be to ensure that there is no poverty in Russia, that there are no homeless people in Russia. The church tries to do everything in its power to help, to warm in the winter time, to wash, dress, give advice, buy a ticket to home. These are not very significant measures, but a nationwide program for the complete eradication of poverty should be adopted.

But even with all this, we will not solve the problem of human happiness. No decrease in interest rates and no increase in income will play a decisive role. I say this because it is on everyone's lips now, people are very concerned about what is happening with their investments in banks, with loans, and everything else. This, of course, is important, I am not minimizing this problem, but I want to say that it is not at all determined in the first place what human life and human happiness mean.

But on what concerns the internal state, you need to work every day. After all, what is faith? This is the way of constant self-control and influence on your soul, on your consciousness. When we pray morning and evening, we must subject ourselves to careful analysis. I know that it is sometimes difficult for people to read prayers, because even in Slavic it is not very successful, and there seems to be not enough time, but there is enough time to think about yourself, to reflect on your life, about the day passed. So do it before the face of God! Subject your actions to analysis, control them, ask God for forgiveness and admonition so as not to repeat mistakes. I spoke to someone incorrectly, raised my voice at someone, pulled someone back, hurt someone, offended someone, deceived someone ...

If we talk to God about all this and ask for His help, then we will change ourselves, we will change our inner world. We will become stronger, and our well-being depends on this inner spiritual strength - in my opinion, to a much greater extent than on external material factors. Although these factors should not be minimized, taking into account all that we have said in connection with the miserable existence of many of our citizens.

- Your Holiness, I cannot but ask this question in the coming year. We will be celebrating the 1000th anniversary of the Russian monastic presence on Athos. How is this holiday supposed to be celebrated?

- This is a very important event in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, in the history of Athos and, of course, in the whole of universal Orthodoxy. On Mount Athos, in our monasteries on the eve of this holiday, grandiose restoration work has been and is being carried out. Private philanthropists are investing heavily in the restoration of Russian Athos monasteries, and we very much hope that our monasteries, which fell into disrepair during the 20th century, will be transformed by the celebration of this event, because there was no influx of monks, ties with Russia were severed.

Also in our country will be held scientific conferences, carried out numerous research projects and publications. We want to involve our scientific community, our intelligentsia and, of course, our people in this celebration. Why? Because Athos was, is and will be a center that has a special spiritual meaning for us, for all our people. Surprisingly, Athos played, plays and will, apparently, continue to play an important role in the Christianization of our society. After all, many go there for the sake of exoticism - just to see what kind of place it is, where women are not allowed, where monks are self-governing, some kind of state within a state ... They come and feel the grace of God in their hearts and keep in touch with Athos. For many, this connection leads to God and strengthens their spiritual life. Therefore, the anniversary, in addition to cultural and historical significance, also has great spiritual significance for our people.

- What will be most important for your flock in Russia and the world in the coming year? What to avoid, what to strive for?

- I cannot give any specific advice now. Because for each person, all this is very individual, and what is good for one person may not be very good for another. And some general advice, general wishes do not touch the mind and heart too much ... But I would like to say about very important things that will help in implementing plans and overcoming life's difficulties.

We have already said that it is good every morning and every evening, while standing before God, to analyze your life, bring repentance and act in the future in accordance with this analysis, but now I would like to say about prayer in general. This is a completely special phenomenon, because God created us autonomous, including from Him. He gave us such freedom that we can believe in Him or not, live according to His law or not, turn to Him or not. Then we simply live according to the laws and elements of this world. There are physical laws, so we live by these laws, or we ourselves create some laws and live by them. And prayer is a way out of this autonomy. The man says: "You created me this way, but I want to be with You." Prayer is drawing God into your own life. Through prayer we make God our co-worker, as it were. We say: "Help, come into my life, limit my freedom" - because very often we do not know what to do.

They come to the priest and say: "Father, should I get married or not?", "Should I marry or not?" I always say to confessors: "Be careful with such answers, how can you know?" These are the questions a person should address to God, as well as, perhaps, smaller issues related to everyday life. When we ask God, when we pray, we establish a connection with Him, God is really present in our lives, and we become stronger. This is the first thing I would like to wish people: learn to pray. Learning to pray means learning to be strong, and what will hinder our connection with God in any case is when we consciously sin. Of course, we can also repent - sincere repentance removes sin and responsibility for it, but what is very important, if we consciously live in unrepentant sin, then our prayers do not reach God. Sin is the only wall that really separates us from God. There is a wall, and there is no contact, the circuit does not close ...

- An unrepentant sin?

- Unrepentant sin. Therefore, when we realize that we are doing badly, we need to repent, first of all, before God, well, if anyone has the strength and capabilities, then in the temple before the priest. This is the second thing I would like. By the way, confession is not before the priest, but before God, the priest is only a witness to the fact of repentance. The sinner was excommunicated from the Church, he could not receive communion, he could not enter the church, and therefore there had to be a witness of his repentance in order to say: "Yes, he can come, he can pray with us." This is where the tradition of repentance comes from in the presence of a priest, but before the face of God.

Well, and the last thing I would like to say. Our lives become pleasing to God if we simply do good deeds. Many people need these good deeds - from those closest to us with whom we live, to those with whom we meet by the nature of our service, in different life circumstances. If we learn to do good, we will become happy people, because good multiplies good. This is what I would like to wish to myself, to you and to everyone who listens and sees us.

- Thank you sincerely for this important interview for all, Your Holiness. Thank.

Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia