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Patriarch Kirill I, of Moscow and All Russia, regards National Unity Day as a holiday that is addressed to Russia’s future. Celebrations on the occasion of the 400th anniversary since the end of the Time of Turmoil, in his opinion, is a good occasion not only to recall a great victory achieved by the people – the restoration of Russian statehood – but also to give thought to the country’s modern development trends.
“Like it was 400 years ago, the ideas of solidarity and the concern for a common cause as a factor opposed to self-serving pursuits can and must play the role of a brace holding our society together,” Patriarch Kirill I told Itar-Tass in an interview. “Whatever an individual’s financial status and whatever the official post he or she occupies, a human being cannot feel genuine happiness without caring for the neighbor’s needs. The bigger the number of those who are imbued with the sense of social service and who feel the social significance of what they are doing, the stronger a society is and the smaller the distances between the groups making it up.”
“Similarly to what happened 400 years ago, we are facing the lures of arrogance and the extolling of some people over others and are gripped by jealousy that seeks justice through violence. You and I and all of us are making the choices that either bring the times resembling the Turmoil closer or drive them farther away from us. The small steps we make actually either switch us to the track of building a fair and flourishing society or divert us away from it. Our consciousness is the most lucid guiding star in this sense but it does not shine outside the spiritual tradition, however,” the Patriarch said with certainty.

(Itar-TASS)