Russian Patriarch Kirill Does Not See Tragedy in the Economic Crisis

By The Moscow Times

Jan. 7, 2016

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill D.Grishkin / Vedomosti

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill urged people not to weaken under economic difficulties in Russia, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

“A person earns a little more or less, … but in general there is no tragedy in the country today,” he said in an interview shown Thursday on television channel Russia 1.

He said that if a person equates well-being with material goods, ?€?the slightest reduction in consumption may seem terrible tragedy.?€? However, he does not believe that money and material things should not take precedence over spiritual needs, Interfax reported.

Patriarch Kirill was previously embroiled in a Photoshop scandal in 2012 after bloggers noticed that the reflection of his $30,000 Breguet watch could be seen in a 2009 photo, while the Patriarch's arm appeared bare. The church said it was ?€?an absurd mistake by the photo department?€? and called the photo a ?€?serious violation of our internal ethics.?€?

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