Russian Orthodox Leader Endorses Death Penalty in Talk With Russian Soldiers

Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church suggested the potential implementation of the death penalty in Russia, stating that neither the Church nor Jesus Christ explicitly condemned it.

He stated this during a meeting with Russian soldiers who had participated in the war against Ukraine.

When asked for his view on introducing the death penalty in the country, Kirill noted that it has always existed throughout human history and that Jesus Christ did not condemn it, despite being unjustly executed himself.

The Patriarch noted that "the Church has never insisted on the abolition of this punishment."

Kirill also cited a verse from the the New Testament of the Bible: “In the word of God, there are these words: ‘Remove the evil from among yourselves.’ That is, if there is a person who is a danger to society and cannot be isolated, they must be removed. This is why the death penalty is not condemned in the Holy Scriptures.”

“God grant that there be as few cases as possible where it becomes necessary to take a person's life—even for certain crimes. Do we have life imprisonment now? Let it be so. I just don’t know which is better for a person,” Kirill concluded.

Patriarch Kirill is the current Patriarch of Moscow, serving as the head of the Russian Orthodox Church since 2009, known for his strong alignment with the Russian state and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Patriarch Kirill has expressed strong support for Russia’s military actions, including the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.