Gay Parades: A Loyalty Test to Those Who Want to Rule the World - Head of Russian Church

This is a machine translation of a sermon preached on Sunday, March 6, 2022, in Moscow.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

To all of you my dear bishops, fathers brothers and sisters. I heartily congratulate you with today's Forgiveness Sunday with the last day of Sunday before the beginning of the journey of the holy Friday of Great Lent. 

The great Lent is called by many of the companions and piety as a spring of spirituality. It coincides with the spring of the physical and at the same time has always been perceived by the consciousness of the church as a spiritual spring. And what is spring? Spring is the rebirth of life, it is renewal, it is new strength. We know that it is in the spring, a powerful sap rises to a height of 10 20 100 meters and what this or that tree is doing. This is truly an amazing miracle of God's miracle of life. Spring is the rebirth of life is a great symbol of life.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the main spring holiday is Easter. It is also a sign sign of the symbol of eternal life. And we believe that it is. And that means that the whole Christian faith that we share with you is a faith which affirms life which is against death against destruction which affirms the need for people to follow divine laws. In order to live in order not to perish in this world or in the world to come. But we know that this spring is doomed by grave events related to the deterioration of the political situation in Donbass and almost the beginning of hostilities there. I would like to say something on this subject. For 8 years there have been attempts. To destroy. What exists in Donbas. And in Donbas there is a fundamental rejection of the so-called values that are offered today by those who aspire to world power.

There is a thing today, a test for loyalty to this power. It is a kind of a pass to the happy world of excessive consumption, the world of illusory freedom. And you know what this test is? The test is very simple and at the same time horrible. It's a gay pride parade! There are the demands for many to have a gay parade and this is the test of loyalty to that very powerful and the world. And we know that if people or countries reject these demands then they are not part of that world, they become outsiders. But we know what this sin is, that is promoted through these so-called marches of pride. It is that sin which is condemned by the word of God and by the old testament and the new testament. And in condemning sin, God does not condemn human sinners he only calls them to repentance. But in no way through the man of the cross and his behavior does sin become an accepted way of life. 

Variations in human behavior are respected and acceptable. But if humanity accepts that sin is not a violation of God's law if humanity accepts that sin is a variation of human behavior then human civilization will end there. And these gay pride parades are not just to prove but to demonstrate that this is one of the variations of human behavior. That's why in order to get into the club of those countries you have to have a gay pride parade. Saying you agree with them is not enough. Signing some sort of an agreement is not. It has to be a parade! And we know how these very demands often meet resistance from people and how this resistance is suppressed by force.

So it's about imposing sin by force on the laws of God that are being discussed. And that means to forcefully impose on people a denial of God and his truth. So what is happening today in international relations is not just about politics. It is about something else and much more important than politics. It is about human salvation. About where mankind will be on what side. From God the savior who came into the world as judge and creator. On the right side or the left side. And there are many today. Because of weakness, because of stupidity, because of ignorance, and most often because of an unwillingness to resist, they go to the left side. And so all that has to do with this justification of sin condemned by the Bible is a test today of our faithfulness to the lord and our ability to profess faith in our savior. 

What I am saying doesn't just have a theoretical meaning and not just a spiritual meaning. After all, there is a real war going on around this topic today. And those who attack Ukraine today. Where for 8 years in Donbass there is a suppression and extermination of people. Eight years of suffering and the whole world is silent. What does this mean. But we know that our brothers and sisters are really suffering. Moreover, they can suffer for their loyalty to the church. And that's why it's Forgiveness Sunday. On the one hand, as your shepherd, I urge forgiveness of sins and offenses on everyone.

Including where it is very difficult to do so. Where people are at war with one another. But forgiveness without justice is surrender and weakness. Forgiveness must therefore be accompanied by the indispensable right to stand on the side of light on the side of God's truth on the side of the divine commandments on the side of what the light reveals to us. Christ's words. His gospel his greatest covenants given to the human race. All that said, we have entered into a struggle. One that has not a physical meaning but a place of physical meaning. 

I know how, unfortunately, Orthodox people of faith in this war chooses the path of least resistance do not reflect on everything that we are reflecting on today, but go obediently to the path indicated to them by the powers that be. We do not condemn anyone, we do not invite anyone to the cross, we just say to ourselves, we will be true to God's word. We will be true to his law, we will be true to the law of love and justice and if we see violation of that law, we will never put up with those who break that law, including the line between holiness and sin, and especially those who promote sin as a model or as a model of human behavior. Our brethren today. Orthodox people in Donbass are undoubtedly suffering. And we can't help but be with them in prayer. First and foremost. We need to pray for those people. That God will help them to keep their Orthodox faith and not to succumb to temptation and temptation.

At the same time we should pray that peace comes as soon as possible. So that the blood of our brothers and sisters would cease to run. That the Lord will bend His mercy to the long-suffering land of Donbas, which for 8 years has borne this grievous stamp of human sin and hatred. As we enter the journey of Lent. Let us try to forgive everyone. 

What is forgiveness? If you ask forgiveness of a person who has entered into the law or who has undoubtedly done you wrong, you are not thereby justifying his behavior. You just stop hating that person and he stops being your enemy. And that means that by your forgiveness you are turning him over to God's judgment. That is the real meaning of forgiving each other our sins and mistakes. We forgive we give up our hatred of evil. But we cannot, there in heaven, blot out human unrighteousness from the book of life. Therefore, by our forgiveness, we place our wrongdoers in the hands of God, so that the judgment and mercy of God may be completed upon them. That through this our Christian attitude to human sin and wrongdoing may not be the cause of their ruin. But that God's just judgment. To execute judgment on all, including those who take upon themselves the heaviest responsibility. Who take upon themselves the heaviest responsibility. Widening the chasm. Between brethren, adding to it hatred with malice and death. Let the lord of mercy execute his. Righteous judgment. Over us all. And that as a result of this judgment we may not stand on the left side. From the savior who came into the world.

We must repent of our own sins. Approach our lives with a very deep and dispassionate analysis. Ask ourselves what is right and wrong. Never make excuses for myself that I quarreled with someone or something because they were right. That's a false argument, that's the wrong approach. You always have to ask God what I did wrong? And if the lord helps us realize our own wrongness. Then repent of that wrongness. It is today, on Forgiveness Sunday, that we must accomplish this feat. Moreover, they can suffer for their loyalty to the church. And that's why it's a simplified Sunday. On the one hand, as your shepherd, I urge forgiveness of sins and offenses on everyone.

Including where it is hard to do so. Where people are at war with one another. But forgiveness without justice is surrender and weakness. Forgiveness must therefore be accompanied by the indispensable right to stand on the side of light on the side of God's truth on the side of the divine commandments on the side of what the light reveals to us. Christ's words. His gospel his greatest covenants given to the human race. All that said, we have entered into a struggle. One that has not a physical meaning but a place of physical meaning. 

I know how, unfortunately, Orthodox people of faith in this war chooses the path of least resistance do not reflect on everything that we are reflecting on today, but go obediently to the path indicated to them by the powers that be. We do not condemn anyone, we do not invite anyone to the cross, we just say to ourselves, we will be true to God's word. We will be true to his law, we will be true to the law of love and justice and if we see violation of that law, we will never put up with those who break that law, including the line between holiness and sin, and especially those who promote sin as a model or as a model of human behavior. Our brethren today. Orthodox people in Donbass are undoubtedly suffering. And we can't help but be with them in prayer. First and foremost. We need to pray for those people. That God will help them to keep their Orthodox faith and not to succumb to temptation and temptation.

At the same time we should pray that peace comes as soon as possible. So that the blood of our brothers and sisters would cease to run. That the Lord will bend His mercy to the long-suffering land of Donbas, which for 8 years has borne this grievous stamp of human sin and hatred. As we enter the journey of Lent. Let us try to forgive everyone. 

What is forgiveness. If you ask forgiveness of a person who has entered into the law or who has undoubtedly done you wrong, you are not thereby justifying his behavior. And you just stop hating that person and he stops being your enemy. And that means that by your enlightenment you are selling him to God's judgment. That is the real meaning of forgiving each other our sins and mistakes. We forgive we give up our hatred of evil. But we cannot, there in heaven, blot out human unrighteousness from the book of life. Therefore, by our enlightenment, we place our wrongdoers in the hands of God, so that the judgment and mercy of God may be completed upon them. That through this our Christian attitude to human sin and wrongdoing may not be the cause of their ruin. But that God's just judgment. To execute judgment on all, including those who take upon themselves the heaviest responsibility. Who take upon themselves the heaviest responsibility. Widening the chasm. Between brethren, adding to it hatred with malice and death. Let the lord of mercy execute his. Righteous judgment. Over us all. And that as a result of this judgment we may not stand on the left side. From the savior who came into the world.

We must repent of our own sins. Approach our lives with a very deep and dispassionate analysis. Ask ourselves what is right and wrong. Never make excuses for myself that I quarreled with someone or something because they were right. That's a false argument, that's the wrong approach. You always have to ask God what I did wrong. And if the lord helps us realize our own wrongness. Then repent of that wrongness. It is today, on Farewell Sunday, that we must accomplish this feat. The very renunciation of our own sins and our own unrighteousness is a feat of surrendering ourselves to God. And the most important feat of all. It is to forgive those who have wronged us. May God help us all. 

Thus pass the days of holy Friday. So that we can enter with dignity into the joy of Christ's resurrection. And let's pray that in this joy of resurrection, all those who are fighting today, who are shedding blood, who are suffering, will also enter in peace and in tranquility and in joy. For what joy would there be if some were in peace and others in the power of evil and in the sorrow of internecine strife. May God help us all. and not otherwise enter the field of holy Lent. To save our souls. And to promote the multiplication of good in this our sinful and often terribly needy world. So that the truth of God. To reign and rule. And lead the human race. 

Amen.