Latest news with #PatriarchKirill
Al Bawaba
4 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Pope pushes Putin towards peace with Ukriane
LONDON - Pope Leo XIV urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a meaningful step in favor of peace during a phone call Wednesday that focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine and the worsening humanitarian situation. Also Read Pope Leo XIV calls on Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza The conversation, described by the Vatican as 'frank and focused on the urgency of dialogue,' saw the Pope appeal directly for a gesture from Moscow that could help reduce tensions and create the conditions for further diplomatic engagement. According to Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, the Pontiff underlined the 'importance of dialogue to create positive contacts between the parties and seek solutions to the conflict' during the call with the Russian leader. The two also discussed humanitarian aid and the practical challenges of facilitating assistance where needed, as well as the continuing efforts around prisoner exchanges. The Pope also referenced Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, thanking him for his congratulations at the start of his papacy. He reiterated the shared values between Christian traditions, saying they can serve as 'a light that helps to seek peace, defend life, and pursue genuine religious freedom.'
Russia Today
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Putin slams ‘barbaric treatment' of Russian culture
Russian culture is facing tremendous pressure abroad amid unprecedented attacks on anything linked to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in a meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. The president thanked the patriarch for his role in preserving the Russian culture and Russian language under such circumstances. Safeguarding Russian culture 'is particularly important nowadays when we are witnessing not just attacks on Russia but barbaric treatment of our culture even if it is a part of world culture,' Putin said during the meeting on Saturday. Such actions 'do not reflect well' on those behind the attacks, the president stated, adding that Moscow has not seen such a level of animosity 'for a long time.' Putin did not name any specific examples of what he called 'barbaric treatment' of Russian culture. His remarks came amid an unprecedented campaign to purge anything linked to Russia in Ukraine. Kiev has been demolishing monuments and renaming streets deemed even remotely linked to Moscow or Ukraine's own Soviet past. In December, the Odessa city council ordered the demolition of a 19th century monument to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, which was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Later the same month, an Odessa monument to the renowned Soviet poet, singer, and actor Vladimir Vysotsky was removed as well. The council described both monuments as symbols of 'Russian imperial policy.' Since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, the campaign to remove historical links to Russia and its culture has intensified in Ukraine. Kiev passed a law on what it called the 'decolonization' of street signs, monuments, memorials, and inscriptions. In December 2022, a statue of Catherine the Great was taken down in Odessa. The city was founded under her reign in 1794. Kiev also accused the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) of maintaining ties to Russia despite the church declaring independence from the Moscow Patriarchate in May 2022. The Ukrainian authorities have launched a crackdown against the UOC that has included numerous arrests of clergymen and church raids. Ukraine's Western backers have also used the conflict between Moscow and Kiev as a pretext for a crackdown on Russian artists, singers, and cultural figures. In a recent incident, a Russian photographer, Mikhail Tereshchenko, who won the World Press Photo Foundation contest in 2025, was banned from attending his award ceremony in Amsterdam.
LBCI
09-05-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Russian Orthodox head lauds Pope Leo, hopes to build church ties
The leader of Russia's Orthodox Church sent his congratulations to Pope Leo XIV on Friday, saying he hoped the newly elected American pontiff would help foster ties between their churches. "I sincerely hope that, with your participation, relations between our churches will continue to develop," Patriarch Kirill said in a statement, a day after the new pope's election. AFP
Reuters
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian patriarch, criticised by Pope Francis, sends warm message to Leo
MOSCOW, May 9 (Reuters) - Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a message of congratulations on Friday to Pope Leo, whose predecessor Pope Francis had criticised Kirill's backing for Russia's war in Ukraine. "You are beginning your ministry as the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church at a special historical moment, associated with a number of civilisational challenges as well as with certain signs of hope," Kirill wrote to Leo, elected by a college of cardinals on Thursday to serve as the first pope from the United States. "In this context, the relationship between the Christian East and West is of particular importance for the fate of the world." Kirill did not say what he meant by "signs of hope", although he may have been referring to U.S.-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church has been a powerful ally of President Vladimir Putin, giving its blessing to the war and supporting his campaign to uphold what he calls traditional values in Russian society, in contrast to perceived Western decadence. In 2022, the Russian church scolded Pope Francis for using the wrong tone after he urged Patriarch Kirill not to become the Kremlin's "altar boy", saying such remarks would hurt dialogue between the two churches. In his message to Leo, however, Kirill held open the possibility of building bridges. "I sincerely hope that with your participation, the relations between our churches will progressively develop for a joint witness to Christ and the manifestation to humanity of the enduring beauty of life based on the commandments of God," he said.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact Check: A Fox livestream news report labeled Kyiv a Russian city. Here's what we know
Claim: A Fox News broadcast labeled Kyiv (the capital of Ukraine) a Russian city on Easter 2025 Rating: What's True: The mistake appeared on LiveNOW from Fox, a news service delivered by Fox Television Stations. What's False: However, while LiveNOW from Fox and Fox News are both part of the Fox Corporation, they are not interchangeable nor run by the same business within the corporation. On April 21, 2025, claims (archived) circulated that Fox News called the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv a Russian city during an Easter broadcast. One X user posted a screenshot showing the alleged mislabeling, captioned: "Meanwhile, Fox News claims that Kyiv is Russia and broadcasts 'Patriarch Kirill'." The screenshot showed three livestreams of Easter services with one labeled "Kyiv, Russia." Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine. The claim also circulated on X (archived), Facebook (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived). Screenshots showed that the mistake occurred during a broadcast showing midnight masses in Moscow, Kyiv and the Vatican ahead of Easter Sunday on April 21, 2025. The logo for LiveNow, a Fox station, appeared on the screenshots. On April 20, LiveNOW from Fox posted (archived) on its X account, "LiveNOW made an unintentional mistake Saturday evening during extensive live coverage of Easter services from around the world. The error occurred during the transition between global live events and was corrected and acknowledged on-air. We regret and apologize for the mistake." However, while LiveNOW and Fox News are both owned by the Fox Corporation through Fox TV Stations and Fox News Media, respectively, they are not the same channel. Therefore, while the mislabeling on LiveNOW from Fox did happen, we rate this claim mostly true. Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022, when a Russian invasion escalated a territorial conflict between the nations that began in 2014. We reached out to LiveNOW from Fox for any additional comment on the mistake and await a reply. The claim spread extensively in Ukrainian news outlets and included screenshots from LiveNOW's broadcast, with the mistake appearing at various different times. On the evening of April 20, 2025, the news had reached Ukrainian officials. Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote (archived) on X, "If this was a mistake rather than a deliberate political statement, there should be an apology and an investigation into who made the mistake." LiveNOW from Fox said in its statement earlier that same day, "We regret and apologize for the mistake." Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced an Easter truce in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine starting in the afternoon on April 19, 2025. However, hours into the truce, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed (archived) on X that Russia had attacked the Kursk and Belgorod regions of Ukraine. Arhirova, Hanna. "Ukraine Wary of Putin's Easter Truce and Says It Will Reciprocate Only a Genuine Ceasefire." AP News, 19 Apr. 2025, "Businesses Archive." Foxcorporation, Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. "Fox News Broadcast Easter from Moscow and Made Kyiv 'Russian.'" RBC-Ukraine, Accessed 21 Apr. 2025. "Fox News Labels Kyiv a Russian City, Ukraine Calls for 'Apology and Investigation.'" The Kyiv Independent, 20 Apr. 2025, Gera, Vanessa. "Russia-Ukraine: What to Know as Russia Attacks Ukraine." AP News, 25 Feb. 2022, "LiveNOW Labels Kyiv as 'Russia' During Easter Service Broadcast." UNITED24 Media, 20 Apr. 2025, @livenowfox. "We Have Issued the Following Statement Regarding a Mistake That Occurred Saturday on LiveNOW from FOX: ." X, 20 Apr. 2025, Post, Kyiv. "FOX Under Fire for Misidentifying Kyiv as Part of Russia in Easter Coverage." Kyiv Post, 20 Apr. 2025, @SpoxUkraineMFA. "If This Was a Mistake Rather than a Deliberate Political Statement, There Should Be an Apology and an Investigation into Who Made the Mistake. ." X, 20 Apr. 2025, @ZelenskyyUa. "A Report by the Commander-in-Chief. ." X, 19 Apr. 2025,
