Patriarch Alexy: memory about victims must not be a cause of political speculations

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia addressing the Bishops’ Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, said in particular that “the Church keeps the prayerful memory of all the faithful who became victims of the godless government’s policy.”

He noted that that policy was not only antireligious but also antihuman: “It was the cause of death of millions of innocent citizens.” The “dispossession of the kulaks” and the famine in 1932−1933 Ukraine, Transvolga Region, North Caucasus, the South Urals, western Siberia and Kazakhstan were the most tragic events of that time.

“We must not forget these bitter pages of history. The memory of the victims must not be a cause of political speculations. It must inspire the spiritual unity of the people who have a common history and common destiny,” said Patriarch Alexy.

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