The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) calls on all states to consider Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church as accomplices in war crimes. The PACE is appalled by the decision of the "Russian Council" associated with the Russian Orthodox Church to recognize Russia's war against Ukraine as "holy." This is stated in the PACE resolution of April 17, UNN reports.
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According to the resolution, Vladimir Putin's regime adheres to the neo-imperialist ideology of the "Russian world", which the Kremlin has turned into a tool for propaganda of war. This ideology is used to destroy the remnants of democracy, militarize Russian society and justify foreign aggression to expand Russia's borders at the expense of Ukrainian territories.
The hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, including Patriarch Kirill, upholds the ideology of the "Russian world," declaring the war against Ukraine and the "satanic" West a "holy war of all Russians" and calling on Orthodox believers to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their country. The assembly is appalled by this outrage against religion and the distortion of the Christian Orthodox tradition by the regime of Vladimir Putin and his proteges in the hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate
It is emphasized that the Assembly condemns such rhetoric and emphasizes that incitement to commit the crime of aggression, genocide and war crimes is a crime in itself.
The Assembly calls on all states to consider Patriarch Kirill and the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church as an ideological continuation of the Vladimir Putin regime, which is involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the name of the Russian Federation and the ideology of the "Russian world"