Putin is under Satan's influence: leader of Kiev Orthodox Church

President Vladimir Putin has fallen under the spell of Satan and faces eternal damnation unless he repents, a top Ukrainian clergyman said on Saturday in an unusually blunt statement that squarely blamed the Russian leader for the war in Ukraine.

Patriarch Filaret heads the Kiev Patriarchate, a branch of the Orthodox Church that broke away from Moscow in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union and the declaration of an independent Ukraine.

His church, a rival of the Moscow Patriarchate which is closely linked to Putin, strongly supports Ukrainian nationhood and the Kiev government's struggle to defeat pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"With great regret I must now say publicly that among the rulers of this world ... there has appeared a new Cain, not by his name but by his deeds," Patriarch Filaret said, invoking the Biblical character who killed his brother Abel.

"Like the first fratricide of history Cain, these deeds show that the afore-mentioned ruler has fallen under the action of Satan," he said in the statement, published on the patriarchate's website in Ukrainian, Russian and English. ....

"This ruler is cynically lying, saying his country is not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, though he did everything in order to foment the conflict and maintain it," said Filaret.

"He calls himself a brother to the Ukrainian people, but in fact according to his deeds, he has really become the new Cain, shedding the brotherly blood and entangling the whole world with lies," Filaret said.

Filaret urged the Orthodox faithful to pray that Putin would "come to his senses". Otherwise, the patriarch added, he would face "an ignominious end and eternal damnation in hell".

>> Not defending Putin, but I wonder if the Church leader apposing him supports abortion and gay marriage? <<

Nope. Bishop Filaret is strongly pro-life and against gay marriage:

Prior to the May 25, 2013 Kiev pride parade the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Filaret, stated that people supporting LGBT rights would be cursed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Ukraine#cite_note-WPGU23513-5

“We support Ukrainian statehood and fight the vices of society, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, homosexuality, abortion, and corruption.”
http://kyivweekly.com.ua/pulse/society/2012/02/13/153706.html

Why would you assume he isn’t?

In the minds of some people, opposition to Putin cannot be because he’s a warmongering, self-aggrandizing, former KGB Colonel turned President for Life who hijacked his country as it was becoming free. It cannot be out of principle. It has to be because Putin’s made some public anti-fag statements. And of course Putin runs the Russian Orthodox Church now, so he must be a good conservative, since these types of conservatives think a former communist turned pseudo conservative should run churches. Plus when it comes to being against abortion, Putin could stop them in his country since he has so much power, and he’s STRONG, something these folks admire in a country’s leader. But for some reason Putin doesn’t use his power to save lives by stopping abortions. He uses his power to whip up paranoid propaganda, annex nearby countries, and to restore the Soviet/Russian empire into a Third Reich.

>> In the minds of some people, opposition to Putin cannot be because he’s a warmongering, self-aggrandizing, former KGB Colonel turned President for Life who hijacked his country as it was becoming free. It cannot be out of principle. It has to be because Putin’s made some public anti-fag statements. And of course Putin runs the Russian Orthodox Church now, so he must be a good conservative, since these types of conservatives think a former communist turned pseudo conservative should run churches. Plus when it comes to being against abortion, Putin could stop them in his country since he has so much power, and he’s STRONG, something these folks admire in a country’s leader. But for some reason Putin doesn’t use his power to save lives by stopping abortions. He uses his power to whip up paranoid propaganda, annex nearby countries, and to restore the Soviet/Russian empire into a Third Reich. <<

Excellent summary of some of the Putin cheerleaders on FR (who claim "I'm not defending Putin" while defending him tooth and nail by starting a whisper campaign that anyone who disagrees with Vlad is pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage)

Ironically, Russia has one of the highest abortion rates in the world (In 2001, 1.31 million children were born in Russia, while 2.11 million abortions were performed). I've never seen Putin even claim to be "pro-life" or make a statement that abortion should be illegal, though he may have given some lip service about reducing abortions. The only thing that be definitely shown about the Russian government is that Prime Minister Medvedev's WIFE Svetlana Medvedeva publicly identifies as "pro-life" , but of course, the same can be said of Harry Reid.

Putin's never claimed to be "conservative" either, and his political party, United Russia, describes themselves as "centrist" on the political spectrum. He's to the right of Obama, but again, since we're talking about Obama, just about everyone in Russia besides outright communists is to Obama's right.

The Russian Orthodox Church is, of course, "pro-life" and "pro-traditional marriage" on paper, but they're also in bed with the Russia government, and has been so for centuries, long before Putin, and even the USSR, they were in bed with the corrupt Czars. There's even talk of making Ivan the Terrible a "saint" in the Russian Orthodox Church. During the communist era, any Russian priest or bishop who didn't tow the party line was liquidated and whole churches were shut down. Although they're "officially" divorced from the Communist Party today, Communists continue to remain inside the ROC and influence the government.

It's interesting how Vlad claims to support "religious freedom" for Christians be such a good Christian in public, while bullying and oppressing other Christians in neighboring countries and trying to force them to join Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church. It's a well known fact that the ROC has been trying to eliminate the Ukrainian Catholic Church for decades (again, especially in the Soviet era, since they were under papal rule and not communist puppets like the ROC was at the time). Anyone who is not a member of the ROC gets discriminated against. And the Christian leaders in the Ukraine that Friendofgeorge "speculated" about being pro-abortion and pro-gay marriage are actually some of the most outspoken church leaders in eastern Europe for traditional values.

Saying Putin comes across as more of a leader than Obama is one thing. Sympathizing with the KGB thug because he gives lip service about traditional marriage (which, a decade ago, EVERY politician did) is beyond the pale.

I asked strictly because it`s always the first question I ask.

I dont buy that The Pope is really pro life, nor Popes in recent history, and NO I am not now attacking the Pope either, was just an example.

When I hear liberal preachers in the US lecturing anybody, I first look to see if they are even pro life before I take them seriously as even being Christian

Correction I dont believe in Liberal Christianity, the term is a oxymoron

So NO was NOT defending Putin at all, I thought Putin showed his true colors many years ago when he allowed the submarine crew to die in the Kursk...I think it was called

Funny I was singled out by another as somehow defending Putin,. I HAPPEN TO BE A CHRISTIAN and would NOT support Putin on anything

Yes you unfairly singled me out ^$%# quit judging what you dont know, waiting for your apology