The nuclear bomb: a blessing from God?

Kirill or Cyril Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009. Prior to becoming Patriarch, Kirill was Archbishop (later Metropolitan) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and also Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations. He has been a permanent member of the Holy Synod since 1989. A close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Kirill has described Putin's rule as "a miracle of God". According to Putin, Kirill's father baptized him. During his tenure as Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Kirill has brought the Russian Orthodox Church closer to the Russian state. Kirill's relationship with Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch and the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, has been tense. Kirill has lauded the Russian invasion of Ukraine, justifying the war as a struggle against "forces of evil". The World Russian People's Council under his leadership described the conflict as a "Holy War". Clergy in other Orthodox Churches have condemned his remarks, with Bartholomew I saying that Kirill's support for Putin and the war were "damaging to the prestige of the whole of Orthodoxy". Russia, under the political and military leadership of Putin, invaded Ukraine five years ago. Putin assumed that this “special military operation” would take only four weeks to subject the entire territory of Ukraine to his tyranny. Although media coverage has not reported the course of this entire war in more detail, it has nevertheless already become clear to most countries in the world that today, in July 2026, Russia has still not gained a single victory, but on the contrary, its country finds itself on the brink of bankruptcy, inflation is sky-high, and many firms can only borrow money at a pro rata interest rate of approximately 20%. The majority of petroleum refineries were systematically bombed or rendered technically irreparable so they could not be restarted quickly. The logistics are no better, but worst of all is that 1,700,000 Russian soldiers have already been incapacitated, of whom approximately 35% were evacuated or taken prisoner by the Ukrainian army, severely wounded. The sanctions imposed by Europe make the sale of oil products, which fill the military treasury to finance the war, more difficult than daily through the systematic disabling of ammunition depots and the destruction of military vehicles by intelligent Ukrainian drones, developed and manufactured to systematically destroy all enemy military targets daily—too long to list it all here. Russia, on the other hand, sends a swarm of 300 to 400 Iranian Shahed drones and 3 to 4 ballistic missiles at Ukraine every two days—not targeting military objectives, but aiming to strike the innocent population as much as possible, deliberately destroying the elderly, mothers, and children, as well as their appliances, shopping centers, and energy supplies. All purely crimes of war to demoralize the population and push them as far as possible so that President Zelensky would capitulate. Despite the fact that Putin is being humiliated and his military is losing hope, and even the Russian population is now feeling the boomerang of war, Putin's power is beginning to crumble. His influence has weakened considerably, but he is not giving up. But the Russian Orthodox Church under the figurehead of its Patriarch, Kirill Vladimir Mikhailovich, which shares a large part of Christian values with the Catholic Church, has suddenly thrown a portion of the most important fundamental values of the Christian faith overboard. The most important of these is the 6th commandment, “Thou shalt not murder,” but also the 2nd commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus, peace itself is being attacked by this. Putin feels emboldened by this to continue his destructive drive, against all logic. The newspaper “Moscow Times” published an article stating that the turnaround of the Orthodox Church under the leadership of Patriarch Kirill ultimately encouraged President Putin to use nuclear weapons against the West. Below you will find the translated article from the Russian newspaper, as well as a link to a YouTube video that clearly shows that Kirill is actually disregarding the basic principles of the Christian faith and thereby hopes the population will accept his religious claims, thereby encouraging Putin to continue the war at all costs. Putin also plans to organize a general mobilization and once again deploy North Korean troops to continue Putin’s war in Ukraine alongside Russian forces. Peace is therefore not on the horizon! Nuclear Weapons ‘Saved’ Russia – Patriarch Kirill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLUnf_XJt54 Russia’s nuclear weapons “saved” the country, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said Wednesday. “Were it not for the work of [Soviet atomic bomb creator Igor] Kurchatov and his colleagues, it is difficult to say if our country would still exist,” Patriarch Kirill said. His comments came as he presented a Church honor to physicist Radiy Ilkaev, who heads the Kurchatov-founded Russian Federal Nuclear Center in Sarov. Russian Orthodox Church Establishes ‘Head Military Priest’ Post Soviet scientists “created weapons under the protection of St. Seraphim of Sarov, because, by the ineffable providence of God, these weapons were created in the monastery of St. Seraphim,” Kirill said. The first successful test of the Soviet atomic bomb, RDS-1, was carried out on Aug. 29, 1949, in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia currently has an arsenal of 4,489 nuclear warheads, 1,674 of which are deployed. The United States has a smaller overall arsenal at 3,708 warheads, but more of its warheads, 1,770, are ready for use. Patriarch Kirill is a staunch backer of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and dozens of Orthodox priests have been sent to the front to support Russian troops. In April, he established a new senior ecclesiastical position to oversee the Church's activities in Ukrainian territories where Russia is waging war. The Church in 2020 proposed guidelines advising priests against their long-held practice of blessing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. In May 2022, an archpriest said the guidelines, which are still in draft form, would “in no way” change this practice. Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has described the creation of the Soviet atomic bomb as an act of “God’s grace and mercy” toward Russia. He made the statement on August 1 after a liturgy at the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveyevo Monastery marking the feast of the discovery of the relics of Seraphim of Sarov. The sermon was published on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate. Kirill said that scientists working in Sarov created “our Russian atomic bomb.” He claimed the weapon thwarted the plans of enemies seeking to “destroy and enslave” the country. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church also linked the success of the Soviet nuclear program to religion. He said it was no coincidence that the weapon was developed in Sarov, where Seraphim of Sarov had prayed. According to Kirill, some Orthodox physicists share this view. Sarov, a closed city known as Arzamas-16 during the Soviet era, became one of the USSR’s leading nuclear weapons development centers. Design Bureau No. 11, now known as the Russian Federal Nuclear Center, was established there in 1946. The first Soviet atomic bomb, RDS-1, was tested at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan on August 29, 1949. The test ended the United States’ monopoly on nuclear weapons and marked the beginning of the nuclear confrontation between the two countries during the Cold War.