r/Catholicism • u/Pretend-Aioli-166 • 11h ago
Christians thinking Russia is godly
I find it odd how alot of Christian’s think Russia is this bastion of Christianity because the goverment imposes a level of social Christian morality I’ve talked to Russians and looked at statistics church attendance is lower, HIV rates are higher, the people themselves may be culturally Christian but don’t really practice it in reality the women and women are having premarital sex and living like people in the west. something that people gloss over is they think because the Russian goverment doesn’t allow some degeneracy that Russia is moral however Russias degeneracy is imperialism and a complete disregard for human life. I’ve cried over some videos of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers dying in the war it’s heartbreaking theres been news articles and videos on X showing people from Africa and Asia being offered jobs in Russia then they are forced to sign a military contract and are treated like cannon fodder ik there’s alot of propaganda on both sides but even Russian military channels know the death toll and disregard for human life it would be nice to see this satanic goverment fall and see Russia consecrated to the Virgin Mary as Russia has potential but instead it’s destroying itself physically and spiritually I saw this Canadian family going to Russia because Canada promoted LGBTQ yes that’s bad but what’s worse turn ur tv or your phone off of have your sons conscripted to the war just to be blown up by a drone within 30 minutes on the front and there’s instances where some people in rural Russia are individually forced to sign contracts against there will essentially forced conscription
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u/newHamsterForDiner 11h ago
I am Russian. You may ask me any questions you want. But the big fact you need to know - Russia is a huge country. And we have a lot of muslim regions, buddhist regions. These people are not happy with russian orthodox church. And unfortunately the most russians are atheists of some kind. But government propaganda really trying to push orthodox narratives. And i deliberately choose word orthodox instead of Christian. Because russian orthodox church is VERY deep into the war agenda. Which contradicts a christian values.
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u/el_chalupa 11h ago
And i deliberately choose word orthodox instead of Christian. Because russian orthodox church is VERY deep into the war agenda.
From the outside, it appears that there's rather a lot of caesaropapism in the Russian church, with it seeming to be subservient to and virtually an organ of the government. Now I'm sure this isn't true with all the clergy at every level, and I would expect it to be more prevalent with the upper echelons of the bishops. Would you agree with this, or be able to offer any nuance or insight?
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u/newHamsterForDiner 11h ago
I completely agree with that. The Russian Orthodox Church has always been—and remains—an extension of secular authority. It serves as an ideological foundation controlled by the state. Currently, the Church is part of a vast mechanism designed to indoctrinate the population and foster loyalty. In my city, advertisements for FM radio "Faith"—funded by the state—can be found at almost every intersection. The Church views itself as an integral part of the state, an extension of its imperial ideas and ambitions.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 11h ago
I watched a documentary about the collapse of the ussr and now this could be completely fabricated but it said or what I think it said was that the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church was going around the kremlin or some other goverment building angry and screaming or doing something or distressed by the fall of the ussr I agree KRILL has stated that dying in this holy war means your absolved of all your sins it’s genuinely satanic while
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u/iamlucky13 9h ago
I haven't seen Patriarch Kirill state that participating in the "special military operation" means all sins are absolved.
However, it is correct that the Russian Orthodox Church has formally declared it to be a holy war. I think the last time I tried to share a link to this statement, Reddit auto-moderated the post as spam, so I will just give a reformatted address: patriarchia (dot) ru/article/105523
It is in Russian, but Google Translate and similar tools usually do a good job with the text.
From a spiritual and moral perspective, the special military operation is a Holy War, in which Russia and its people, defending the unified spiritual space of Holy Rus', fulfill the mission of the "Restrainer," protecting the world from the onslaught of globalism and the victory of the West, which has fallen into Satanism.
After the completion of the Second World War, the entire territory of modern Ukraine must be placed within Russia's exclusive zone of influence. The possibility of a Russophobic political regime hostile to Russia and its people, or a political regime controlled from an external center hostile to Russia, must be completely excluded.
The thing that stands out the most to me other than the proclamation that Ukrainian independence is completely unacceptable, is how blatant the blasphemy of replacing God with the state has become. There is no mention of Christ, or God in general, much less the Holy Trinity in the declaration. Instead, it proclaims a trinitarian "doctrine" that demands Russian conquest of Ukraine:
Russia should return to the doctrine of the triune Russian people, which has existed for over three centuries. According to this doctrine, the Russian people are composed of Great Russians, Little Russians*, and Belarusians, all branches (sub-ethnic groups) of a single people, while the concept of "Russian" encompasses all Eastern Slavs—the descendants of historical Rus'. In addition to recognition and development in Russian scholarship, the triune doctrine must be enshrined in law, becoming an integral part of the Russian legal system.
After how much effort Russia has spent insisting Ukraine is a Nazi state, I actually laughed out loud when Kirill then proclaimed a goal of building a 1000 year reich (note that "reich" is the German word for "realm" or "kingdom," so it is synonymous with the term "state."):
Building a thousand-year-old Russian state is the highest form of political creativity for Russians as a nation.
* Putin defined "Little Russia" as the territory of Ukraine in a speech 7 months before launching the invasion that is seen as a central part of his overall goals and justification for the war. Kirill is using the same definition to suggest a spiritual obligation for Russia to control Ukraine.
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u/newHamsterForDiner 10h ago
Well, you may google a lot of pictures of priests which are blessings the weapons. Automatic rifles, tanks, even rockets. I have no clue why nobody raise a questions. Maybe commandment "Thou shalt not kill" doesn't apply to these guys.
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u/iamlucky13 9h ago
Typically they rationalize it as defense against "western aggression."
They talk incessantly about the threat of "NATO expansion" as if it was done by force, when in reality it was due to countries formerly part of the USSR or the broader Warsaw Pact voluntarily asking to join NATO, because they're concerned about Russia trying to re-assert control over them.
This rhetoric seems to generally be pretty effective within Russia. At best, few people are willing to risk publicly contradicting it.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 11h ago
I’ve tried to get a Russian perspective of the war like Russian telegram channels as sometimes I want a unbiased view of what’s happening like did Russia advance in this town or did Ukraine take back this town as I don’t support Russia at all but I loath the ukranian propaganda in the west when I simply want a purely informative view of the war it gets difficult how is the public opinion of the war have u known anyone that was forcibly conscripted and when if ever could there be a breaking point
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u/newHamsterForDiner 11h ago
It is important to understand that Telegram channels promote one viewpoint or another. The war is unpopular in Russia—that is a fact. Militarists make up, at most, 5–10 percent of the population—people who have been living and breathing this for five years now. The majority of people are damn tired; they don’t want to hear about the latest strikes or combat reports. They live without the internet, food prices are soaring, gasoline periodically disappears even in major cities, and everyone is desperate for a return to some semblance of a normal life—and they couldn't care less which side ends up with this or that village.
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u/newHamsterForDiner 11h ago
No, I don’t know anyone who has been forcibly conscripted into the army. I live in a big city, and that sort of thing isn't typical here. Judging by my daily monitoring of the news, this involves targeted pressure on marginalized groups. Signing a voluntary contract is something that happens mostly in villages and small towns; people there face serious financial struggles, so they sign up for a chance to escape poverty—knowing that even if they die, their families will be lifted out of destitution.
If by "breaking point" you mean the start of mass mobilization, I don't think we’ll see that in the next 3–6 months. The country is too vast and the population too large for such a process to be carried out covertly. The trigger for this could be either a major war with NATO or significant defeats at the hands of Ukraine—along with the loss of substantial territory—similar to what happened in 2022.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 11h ago
Have you known anyone that’s fought or died in the war and how is the Catholic Church in Russia dealing with it or is it staying silent I know the Catholic Church is extremely small in Russia so there’s not much that could be done on that end and are you concerned that you could ever be mobilized if Russia ever does a mass mobilization I remember in the first one you could pay a fee to get out of it and they pretty much completely avoided Moscow and st Pete’s and to a lesser extent the larger cities as well
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u/newHamsterForDiner 11h ago
I do not personally know anyone who fought or died in this war. However, that is simply the nature of my social circle—it is strongly anti-war, and I cut ties with anyone who adopted a pro-war stance in 2022. That said, I do know quite a few people who sincerely support "our boys," and some even actively help the front—weaving camouflage nets, repairing vehicles, and sending them to the troops.
The Catholic Church in Russia is not merely small; it has all but died out. It consists largely of foreigners and their descendants, and Masses are often held in Polish or German. I would estimate that 70% of Christianity in Russia is Orthodox, about 25% is Protestant (of various denominations), and roughly 5% is Catholic. Consequently, it unfortunately holds no sway over people's hearts and minds.
I am very afraid of mobilization, but right now—after carefully analyzing all the factors—I consider the likelihood of mass mobilization to be low. This does not rule out the possibility of a sudden escalation, but for the moment, it appears the authorities are trying to avoid that.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 10h ago
Aren’t you able to pay to get out of it if you are it would be wise to save however I’m likley being ignorant as it’s far more difficult economically in Russia especially with the war and sanctions I see the only pro peace party got banned even if they are liberals they seem like the most moral option in Russia have you heard any experiences of people or people who have heard it from others who participated in the war or where in the military and maybe not in Ukraine proper. And how is the day to day life how much have social programs and services decreased and how much have Ukraines strikes on Russian refineries affected Russian civilian life
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u/newHamsterForDiner 10h ago
Unfortunately, I do not know if it was possible to pay one's way out of mobilization. By all accounts, the majority of those called up reported to the enlistment office voluntarily in response to their summons, expecting something along the lines of training exercises or rear-echelon duties. No one expected that, four years later, they would still be in the trenches. Those who had no desire to participate simply did not show up. Two or three weeks later, the mobilization was abruptly called off, and there were no sanctions against those who had skipped the process.
Yes, the Yabloko ("Apple") party was banned and barred from participating in the parliamentary elections.
No, I have not been in contact with anyone who fought in the war.
Daily life has shifted into survival mode; the main issues are inflation and the internet. Across much of the country, internet access is restricted to "whitelisted" sites—meaning only domestic resources are available, and even VPNs don't help. Prices for everything are rising, and taxes were hiked significantly after the elections. There were fuel shortages, with people unable to fill up their cars for days on end. Businesses are suffering losses and economic activity is declining; the country's main taxi service was virtually out of commission for the last two days, and many critical websites went down following drone strikes on data centers.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 10h ago
Damn I never thought it was THAT bad I knew it was bad but I’m genuinely sorry I’m going to pray for peace and that Russia becomes concentrated to the Virgin Mary like Fatima predicted it’s a shame what power one greedy man can have how do you continue to hold hope or if you even do to this day it seems like there’s no end in sight trump is buying Russian diesel although a small amount and it seems like trumps method of trying to end the war doesn’t work for me when I open x I get incredibly sad when I see soldiers on both sides dying the fact that life could be ended in an instant is beyond terrifying and I’ve learned to become more thankful for life even tho it does suck in some aspects that I’m alive and I live in safety I will also pray that you and your friend group never get conscripted as well do you have the ability to leave or are you trying to leave Russia
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u/Hankhank1 8h ago
I pray for Russia, every time at mass. I think that’s the right approach.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 7h ago
It’s incredibly sad to see Russias potential being used on a pointless war dozens of men dying for irrelevant villages every hour
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u/FantasticRecover1104 57m ago
Russia’s potential lies in its peoples ability to overthrow the dictator they voted for and to oppose the war and the killing they started.
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u/SassyStarfruit 1h ago
praying for people is one thing but it would be nice if people also cared about what the russian government is actually doing to them
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u/Dunadan94 10h ago
I am not sure why, and what is the order of cause and effect here, but I noticed that in Catholic groups, especially 'Traditional' Catholic groups online, people with 'edgy' opinions and views are quite overrepresented. Not just Russia, but vaccines, climate change, renewable energy, electric cars, etc.
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u/No_Psychology_3826 9h ago
They were told that anything that liberals favor must be evil. Obviously reality isn't that simple
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u/AccurateWasabi9102 5h ago
yeah some traditional catholic spaces seem to attract people who make being contrarian part of their personality and somehow every conspiracy ends up fitting their worldview
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u/FaraJellyfish 1h ago
yeah some traditional catholic spaces seem to attract people who want to be contrarian about literally everything and call it defending tradition
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 10h ago
I’m talking about Christian’s and the right in general there is a subsection of them who are mildly sympathetic to Russia and there’s been rare and yes it’s very rare where I see trad Christian’s have moved there families to Russia from a decent western country like Canada or the USA because of lgbtq values they would rather risk there male sons to forced conscription and be blown apart by a drone in Ukraine than have them see two men men hold hands or kiss on a sidewalk
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u/MorelsandRamps 10h ago
This. You hit the nail on the head.
This idea of Russia as this savior of Christian morality is basically a product of Kremlin propaganda and is meant to dupe gullible Westerners into being sympathetic to their interests. In reality, Russia trails the West in regular church attendance and far surpasses the West in things like abortions, divorce, HIV infections etc. It is not an intrinsically more moral place because it has laws against LGBT people.
Furthermore, I personally believe the Russian Orthodox Church has abdicated any sort of moral authority it once had in recent years. The ROC functions more or less as a state religion that primarily serves as a tool to reinforce the state’s policies. They have caused one of the worst schisms in Orthodox history literally over the Russian government’s foreign policy goals. It’s nonsense.
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u/TheReviewerWildTake 1h ago
Outside of superficial state propaganda it is one of the most "spiritually atheistic" countries that I have seen.
Ordinary people really don`t care about anything religion related. Some odd religious kid in the school will be bullied etc.
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u/PraetorianXVIII 10h ago
I'm surprised the church survived the Bolsheviks.
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u/Pretend-Aioli-166 8h ago
Well the Russian Orthodox Church really didn’t it’s basically a state sponsored propaganda organization
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u/Practical_Fee_3430 8h ago
Literally headed by someone who worked for the KGB and has his expensive watches airbrushed out of pictures.
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u/SonOfBoreale 7h ago
After 1918, with some exceptions, which have all fallen now, there are no Christian countries right now, only the ruins of them.
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u/gogus2003 5h ago
Vatican
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u/SonOfBoreale 5h ago
Ah yes, I'm going to move to Vatican City, yeah right. Call me back when you're interested in being realistic.
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u/gogus2003 5h ago
"There are no christian countries right now". Vatican is a globally recognized independent country. There are plenty of countries that dont allow any random person to move there.
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u/SonOfBoreale 3h ago
Ok buddy, where's your papal apartment and Vatican passport? Can you vote for Sarah in the next conclave for me?
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u/TheSilentPilgrims 11h ago
You can say the West is living like Russians, because Its communism that gave widespread rise to this degeneracy, abortion, and divorce of Church. Even lukewarm in their faith, they are no good in God's eyes. Pray for them.
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u/StraightMixture9693 11h ago
Western Liberalism and Secularism, gave rise to Communism, and really very few parts of the world have resisted that culture.
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u/Lettigalian 11h ago
Many (I think, especially Americans because of their two-party system) don't understand that there are more than 2 options how to live. You don't have to support Russia, Afghanistan or China, just because you're against degeneracies in western societies.
I think, that Christianity in Europe and US opened doors to the progressives with all of their warped values and ideals, since church was too spineless to stand against it. But solutions won't be found in the systems of countries mentioned before.
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u/you_know_what_you 6h ago
This may be true, that there's a propaganda campaign to shine up the Russian government.
But the more pressing issue to me as an American is the desire to hide the degeneracy of our own government's actions here and around the world.
It's a shame many of us can't look at this clear-eyed, and not fall into the trap of believing that one side is wholly good and the other is wholly bad.
The truth is closer to all human governments are mostly bad, and in this age, mostly bad because their citizens are bad, at least in tolerating the bad.
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u/Redditovich 5h ago
I think you are very emotional about a country you dont understand. Americans (as well as many so called westerners) have this very weird fetish with Russia where they either love it or hate it, but refuse to understand it. Its like a weird Rosarch test.
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u/light311k 1h ago
Russia and Belarus are the only contrys in Europe were Christanity is growing. Russia might not be perfect right now, because of its Communist past, but at least they are going in the right direction, unlike the West. I think its my Christan duty to support Putin.
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u/YrsaMajor 11h ago
I worked there for many years. It's more moral than the US but it's also 2026.
We, too, have the draft. If this war expands they may force it on us.
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u/iamlucky13 9h ago
I think there are two primary reasons:
1) Partisanship - when some people see those they oppose politically opposing Russian government actions, they conclude that they should support Russia. If this is done by prominent leaders of their preferred party, even if implicitly or de facto without directly stating it, then the support becomes even stronger due to a compulsive need to defend those leaders.
2) Russian propaganda promotes the idea of Russia as the protector of Christian values extremely aggressively, from the top all the way down. Putin himself, who seems to only show up to divine liturgy for Christmas and Easter and looks bored out of his mind, has made this claim in numerous speeches, so others emphatically repeat and reiterate it, and then Russian botnets repeat and/or repost it.
Hopefully that last step in the chain is reduced, at least temporarily, with several major data centers in Russia going offline this week (although I suppose they'll shift to datacenters in China, India, and other locations where such activities might not be effectively regulated).
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u/deranton 11h ago
Plus, some of the highest divorce and abortion rates in the world and a divorced pro-choice president. And not a peep from the patriarch about any of that.