Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill writes book on ‘redemptive meaning of war’

The Moscow Patriarchate’s publishing house has released a new book by Patriarch Kirill titled War. Beyond Visible Causes and Consequences., the magazine Demagog reported.According to the announcement, the book “is devoted to the metaphysics of war,” exploring concepts such as sacrifice, heroism, patriotism, and victory “through a distinctively spiritual lens.”“His Holiness the Patriarch speaks of the redemptive meaning and aftermath of war, of Russia’s metaphysical boundaries and goals, and touches on the racial aspect of war. Since everything in the world stems from the contact between good and evil, the outcome of war is determined by God, and whoever is on the side of light wins. Our earthly calling is to be warriors of the Lord, to resist evil, and to uphold high moral ideals,” the announcement says.Patriarch Kirill also writes in the book that the Russian people bear “a great responsibility not to shirk their historical duty to be victors.”Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly justified Russia’s war against Ukraine in his public remarks, calling it “a continuation of that unfinished war in which we won the Great Victory in the spring of ‘45 but failed to fully eradicate the evil of Nazism.”At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.