PATRIARCH KIRILL SPEAKS OUT AGAINST SAME SEX MARRIAGE

  

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow

INTERNET SOURCE: http://frjohnpeck.com/patriarch-kirill-on-homosexual-marriage/

Patriarch Kirill On Homosexual Marriage

In his Sunday sermon this weekend in Kazan Cathedral in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill, Primate, of the Russian Orthodox Church, warned against the extraordinary rise in many western countries of the homosexual movement. Kirill said that the

trend of legalizing “gay marriage” is “a very dangerous sign of the apocalypse.” It “means people are choosing a path of self-destruction,” he said.

He said he supports the recently passed national ban on homosexual propaganda that has prohibited the Gay Pride festivities that have become a prominent feature of national life elsewhere.

“Lately, we have enormous temptations, when a number of countries opting for sin is approved and justified by the law, and those who, acting in good conscience, are struggling with such laws imposed by a minority, being repressed,” Kirill said. 

He added that everything must be done to prevent the approval of sin “on the spaces of Holy Russia.” Otherwise, “the people are embarking on the path of self-destruction”.

The sermon came the Sunday following the passage in Britain of the Cameron government’s so-called “equal marriage” bill. Religious leaders and democracy campaigners both strenuously warned the government that its passage would seriously threaten foundational democratic freedoms. 

Colossal forces have set out

“to convince us all that the only value is the freedom of choice,” said the patriarch, “and no one has the right to infringe on that value, even when a person chooses evil, even when a person chooses a socially dangerous behavior.” 

Even the most perfect laws, however, cannot eradicate corruption, lies, evil and confrontation, he said:

“These can be eradicated only by the person who has made a free choice in favor of the good.” 

In recent months, Kirill’s has emerged as the strongest and most uncompromising religious voice in Europe against the apparently unstoppable political juggernaut of the international homosexualist movement. His comments yesterday follow his warning at a meeting in Moscow in May this year with Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, where he said,

“Today we have a very dangerous development, the laws regarding same-sex marriages and adoption of their children which go against the moral nature of man.” 

“If people choose this lifestyle,” the Polish news service Interfax quoted him saying, “it is their right, but the responsibility of the Church is to say that it is a sin before God”. 

What the Russian Orthodox Church is concerned about, Kirill said,

“is not the fact of the existence of this sin – it has always existed. But we are deeply concerned that for the first time in the history of the human race sin is being justified by law. This opens up the prospect of a dangerous development, which will contribute to the moral degradation of society.”

INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/patriarch-of-moscow-praises-franklin-graham-vows-to-work-with-evangelicals

Fr. Mark Hodges

Tue Mar 22, 2016 - 12:01 pm EST

 

Patriarch Kirill: Evangelicals’ moral stand allows us to continue dialogue with US Christians 

  

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in Antarctica.

[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/patriarch-of-moscow-praises-franklin-graham-vows-to-work-with-evangelicals]

MOSCOW, March 22, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) – Patriarch Kirill, leader of over 200 million Russian Orthodox Christians, says Franklin Graham and other Evangelicals allow the Orthodox Church "to continue our dialogue with Christians in America."

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church met with Graham, son of Billy Graham, and praised him for standing up to the gay agenda sweeping across the United States. 

"I would like to note once again the role played by the conservative Evangelicals in the United States, as their position gives us an opportunity to continue our dialogue with Christians in America," His All-Holiness said, adding that there is "strong moral agreement" between the Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Association, which Graham heads.

"This gives us a sign of hope: there are people among Western Christians akin to us in ethic principles, sharing them with the Russian Orthodox Church," the patriarch noted.

Patriarch Kirill and Graham discussed not only homosexual "marriage," but also the increasing secularization in the West, the need to reach out to a younger generation with the love of God, and severe Christian persecution throughout the world.

Rev. Graham elaborated on Facebook, "We discussed the persecution of the church worldwide, especially in countries like Syria, and the need to protect Christians. We discussed the refugee crisis and how the church can help these people who are fleeing for their lives."

"I appreciate Patriarch Kirill's very clear moral voice on issues of marriage, family, and the sanctity of life," Graham wrote. He praised the patriarch for "raising his voice for the truth in the world which experiences moral hardship."

"This builds on the long ongoing relationship with the Graham family, from the time of Billy Graham's first visit to Russia decades ago," Metropolitan Jonah of the Russian Church Outside of Russia told LifeSiteNews. "The patriarchate has been building a network of contacts with conservative American Christians as a kind of strategic alliance of those who share a commitment to common Christian values of life, marriage, and family."

The metropolitan explained that the Russian Orthodox Church has broken relations "with those groups that espouse contrary values and doctrines throughout the West."

"Patriarch Kirill is among the strongest leaders in the world context to promote the value of human life from conception to natural death, of the natural family of one man and one woman, and the rejection of the secularization which dehumanizes and depersonalizes and devalues human life," Met. Jonah concluded.

The Russian Christian leader also criticized the Episcopal Church, condemning their stand affirming homosexuality and same-sex "marriage," citing these stands as the reason the Orthodox Church in his country has cut off dialogue with the liberal body.

Simultaneously, His All-Holiness praised conservative Anglicans, specifically calling out the Anglican Church in North America for praise in standing up to the tide of politically correct immorality and remaining faithful to Christian moral principles.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/02/13/the-pope-and-head-of-the-russian-orthodox-church-release-statement-against-gay-marriage/

The Pope and head of the Russian Orthodox Church release statement against gay marriage

Joseph Patrick McCormick

13^th February 2016, 1:47 AM 

  

The couple signed the declaration today

The Pope and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church have released a joint statement condemning same-sex marriage.

The statement, consisting of 30 points, holds wide-reaching significance for Catholics and followers of the Orthodox Church.

The main message of the statement seems to be the reconciliation of the Orthodox and Catholic churches.

  

However, as well as a coming together of the two denominations, the statement condemns war in the middle east and the persecution of Christians.

Going on, the statement says Pope Francis and Kirill are “concerned” about Christians being “confronted by restrictions to religious freedom”.

Secular societies are next  on the list, saying that Christians face “outright discrimination”, and that they are faced by an “often very aggressive secularist society”.

The pair urge Europe to “remain faithful to its Christian roots”, and calls on European Christians to be more outspoken about their faith.

In a similar vein to many statements made by the churches, the “family” was high on the agenda.

One point calls family the “natural center of human life and society”, but they say they are “concerned about the crisis in the family in many countries”.

They then say that “the family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman.”

The Pope and the Patriarch are apparently worried that the “biblical tradition, of paternity and maternity as the distinct vocation of man and woman in marriage is being banished from the public conscience.” 

  

Patriarch Kirill in 2013 condemned the advance of marriage equality in the West, calling it a symptom of the apocalypse.

The Russian Orthodox Church has been a key supporter of Russia’s anti-gay law, and Patriarch Kirill maintained the Church’s view that homosexuality is a sin – although he has cautioned against punishing people for their sexuality.

In 2009 he told an interviewer: “We respect the person’s free choice, including in sex relations.”

Pope Francis last month attacked same-sex marriage and civil unions, ahead of a debate in the Italian Senate at introducing civil unions for same-sex couples.

He said: “There can be no confusion between the family God wants and any other type of union.

“The family, founded on indissoluble matrimony that unites and allows procreation, is part of God’s dream and that of his Church for the salvation of humanity,” he added.