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EU Targets Russian Church Leader

by | Fri, May 13 2022

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The European Union is reported to be about to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill of Moscow who’s the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a strong supporter of President Putin.

It would be part of a larger package designed to weaken Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

According to CNN the Patriarch is among the list of names in a proposed sixth round of EU sanctions.

Since the invasion began, Kirill has denounced Russia’s enemies in Ukraine as “evil forces” and framed the conflict as part of a larger “metaphysical” battle against Western ideology.

Just this month, he denied that Russia’s actions constituted an invasion at all.

Pope Francis has labelled him as “Putin’s altar boy.”

Kirill’s rhetoric has sparked dissent in the ranks of the Russian Orthodox Church amid calls for its expulsion from the World Council of Churches.