Patriarch Kirill is confident that Russia has become stronger over the past year, but it needs some help.
Source: Focus
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow called on wealthy compatriots to share their money with the state "for the benefit of Russia in this difficult time of challenges and risks," Russian media reports, quoting his Sunday sermon at the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in Kommunarka.
According to Kirill, the difficulties Russia has faced since the start of the special military operation have made its people stronger.
"Today, Russia has become a strong state capable of responding to the challenges and risks that it faces. But at the same time... the people are growing stronger, and most are becoming wealthier and more prosperous... Today, I have a special message to those who can serve others, particularly "with their wealth" (a quote from the Gospel), with their money, who can perhaps help the state more than others during these difficult times," he said.
The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that big money is a "big responsibility" for every person, and in order to get salvation and eternal life, you need to use it for good purposes.
"Through the wealth of many, the general well-being of the people can increase, and with it, its security, its independence, its freedom are guaranteed. Every wealthy person should remember that he will be justified before God only when his wealth and opportunities will help other people," Kirill explained.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church himself is far from a poor person. Investigative journalists found out that he flew a $43 million Gulfstream G450 business jet and drove the icon around Moscow in a Mercedes-Benz G-Class (Hellendwagen) with flashing lights. Kirill owns real estate in Moscow and the Moscow Region in the amount of $3.3 million, together with his second cousins. There is also a version that he has an apartment in a building on the embankment in Moscow with an area of 145 squares for 70 million rubles.