The head of the Finnish Orthodox Church has strongly condemned recent statements by Russian Patriarch Kirill, who praised Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a demonstration of “God’s mercy and grace.” During a sermon on Saturday, Kirill argued that the creation of the Soviet nuclear bomb had been divinely guided to prevent the destruction of Russia by its enemies.
Finland’s Archbishop Elia rejected these claims, calling it “shocking” that Christian rhetoric is being used to bless weapons of mass destruction and justify their potential use.
Elia accused Patriarch Kirill—a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin—of effectively hijacking Orthodox theology to serve the aggressive military objectives of the Russian state. The Russian Orthodox Church has actively supported Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, even officially labeling the conflict a “holy war.”
In contrast, the leadership of the Finnish Orthodox Church has consistently and unequivocally condemned the war, maintaining that the role of the church is to promote peace rather than to sanctify weapons of mass destruction. Elia wrote in an official statement that there is no such thing as an “Orthodox nuclear weapon.”
The Finnish archbishop expressed particular outrage at Kirill’s attempt to link the development of the nuclear bomb to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most beloved saints in the Orthodox world. Kirill had claimed that the nuclear weapons developed in the closed scientific city of Sarov were created partly through Seraphim’s prayers. Elia strongly denied this connection, pointing out that Saint Seraphim was a figure of love, forgiveness, and humility, representing the exact opposite of the militaristic values promoted by the current Russian patriarch.
