The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has said the world is on the brink of slipping into “the abyss of the end of history.” The apocalypse “is already visible to the naked eye,” Patriarch Kirill, 71, told congregants after a service at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. He said there could be a saving grace for the world if society unites.
Kirill said the signs from the Book of Revelation are now apparent. He also called on politicians and ordinary citizens to unite and stop the movement towards the abyss.
“All people who love the Motherland must be together because we are entering a critical period in the course of human civilization. This can already be seen with the naked eye. You have to be blind not to notice the approaching awe-inspiring moments in history that the apostle and evangelist John was talking about in the Book of Revelation,” the patriarch said.
Patriarch Kirill added, however, that the exact time of the end times depends on everyone’s actions. He called on people to understand their responsibility regarding Russia and the whole of mankind, and to stop “the movement towards the end of history’s abyss.”
He emphasized that many representatives of the modern Russian intelligentsia are repeating the mistakes made by their predecessors, who led the country into the ruinous revolutionary events of the early 20th century. “Today is the wrong time to rock the boat of human passions because there is already too much negative influence on people’s spiritual lives,” Kirill said.
“Today is the time to rally all healthy forces,” Kirill said. “That’s why the church, art, culture, our writers, scientists—all those people who love the Motherland—should come together because we are entering a critical period in human civilization.”
Kirill’s call comes at a time when world unity seems far-fetched. North Korea continues to threaten the U.S. with the prospect of launching a nuclear missile. Terrorist attacks have occurred abroad and last month in New York City, with the Islamic State group in many instances claiming responsibility.
Monday is not the first time that Kirill has warned of the end of the world. In July 2013, he told a congregation at Kazan Cathedral in Moscow that the legal recognition of same-sex marriage is “a very dangerous sign of the apocalypse.”
Nor is it the first time that Kirill has called on countries to unite. “Today’s war on terror should be a joint effort,” he said in October 2016. “This isn’t just Russia’s fight. It’s for all countries, we should unite to defeat this evil, and this war I call a holy one.”
As a religious dignitary Patriarch Kirill is really calling for the uniting of churches and states to bring resolution to the moral decline in the world. He has built a strong relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and is also attempting to strengthen religious influence over the state.
In order for the prophecies of Revelation to be fulfilled, there must be a strengthening of the bonds between church and state in which the church guides the state in its affairs.