Moscow:
Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an Orthodox Church Christmas service inside the Kremlin Cathedral on Saturday instead of joining other worshipers in a public celebration.
Russia’s RIA news agency said it was the first time in years that Putin had celebrated Christmas in Moscow rather than in the capital’s vicinity.
State television showed two live clips of Putin inside the Guild Cathedral of the Annunciation as Orthodox priests conducted a midnight service, known as the Divine Liturgy.
Many Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on January 6–7.
Putin, dressed in a blue jacket and a high-necked white sweater, was the only worshiper and crossed himself several times before television coverage for a public service at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour’s Cathedral.
Putin, who celebrated Easter at the cathedral with thousands of others last year, also attended Christmas last year at his official Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. In 2021, he participated in a public divine service in Novgorod.
The Russian Orthodox Church supports the war in Ukraine. Moscow’s Patriarch Kirill on Thursday called on both sides to observe a 36-hour Christmas truce that was announced by Putin.
At a service to mark the Divine Liturgy, Kirill criticized Ukraine on Friday for cracking down on a branch of the Orthodox Church with longstanding ties to Moscow.
Ukraine’s security service has raided property owned by the church and last month accused a senior cleric of engaging in anti-Ukrainian activity by supporting Russian policies.
Kirill mocked “pathetic attempts” by Kyiv to destroy the Church in Ukraine, saying, “Let us pray for our brothers and sisters and assure us that someday these satanic temptations will pass away.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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