Thus Russtrat director, Elena Panina, begins her May 5, 2023 opinion piece in which she reasons that Russia will prevail in Ukraine because the former is united under the rubric of ‘faith,’ i.e., that ‘God is on our side’ because of the justness of the cause under the banner of which the SMO [Special Military Operation] is being waged. To this, Panina juxtaposes what she intimates to be the moral bankruptcy inherent in the ‘religion’ of the West.

Panina’s assessment of the West’s spiritual predicament shows keen insight, and her language is biblical as she summons the imagery found in the Bible of the war that is being waged between the realms of Light and Darkness, between Good and Evil, yet her application of these concepts is completely skewed as she incorporates patriotic boilerplate with a pseudo-ecumenicalism.

[Panina’s article follows; translated by LOC]

So, not just once have Catholic priests in the U.S., who refuse to perform single-sex marriages, been threatened with arrest. Indeed, in the “country-hegemon,” conclusion of a ‘gay’ union is considered the constitutional right of every citizen, before which the freedom of conscience dims.

The journal The National Interest published a remarkably hypocritical article, informing its readers that “religion has meaning in Central and Eastern Europe.” Possibly, such a heading actually carries some message of revelation for American citizens, whom this same journal was hammering for three years [with the message] that in a “democratic society,” only “black lives” and “LGBT rights” have meaning. [Disclaimer: I have not read the article to which the author refers – LOC]

Further in the article, a lie pours out that one wants to pick apart line-by-line. We won’t torture our readers with a regurgitation of everything that yet again the mouthpiece of Washington’s propaganda gushes forth. Let’s run through what is implied.

It turns out, the “level of protection of the freedom of religion [literally: (confession/profession of faith] throughout the world is closely connected not only with democratic freedoms, but also with the stability of the international system that is vitally important to the national interests of America.” For some reason, immediately come to mind dozens of examples of court cases against Christians, living in the USA, who, under certain circumstances have summoned the displeasure of the privileged class – sexual minorities, which in America for a long time already are not minorities.

So, not just once have Catholic priests in the U.S., who refuse to perform single-sex marriages, been threatened with arrest. Indeed, in the “country-hegemon,” the conclusion of a ‘gay’ union is considered the constitutional right of every citizen, before which the freedom of conscience dims. For the sake of justice, we will be specific: The Vatican, under the pressure of believers after all, was forced to recognize that blessing these very “unions” contradicts the canons of Christianity; and, the pressure on clergymen in the United States and the European Union weakened. All the same, anyone who dares to stand at a children’s library, where a “drag show” is being conducted, and declare that such an outrage is contrary to his faith and common sense, will be taken to the police station and fined. As is the Christian fined who preaches not far from a clinic where abortions are performed.

The National Interest authors write that religious communities play a significant role “in supporting political and social cohesion, national identity and strengthening the region.” Probably, American strategists could tell these tales to the UOC [Ukrainian Orthodox Church] flock – people, from whom militants of the schismatic OCU [Orthodox Church of Ukraine] church, created by Western political strategists, took places of worship.

It is difficult to talk about “religious identity,” observing how, on the grounds of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra [Kyiv Monastery of the Caves], they do blasphemous dances, boisterously celebrating Ukrainian Nazis, and Ukrainian Security Forces employees handcuff priests just for speaking Russian.

[Comment on the last two paragraphs: Panina obviously is at pains to instruct the uninitiated in the necessity to bring Ukraine back into the fold of an all-inclusive Russia (the inclusivity of which she will point out below). Intimated is that the lack of unity demonstrated by the two Ukrainian Orthodox ecclesiastical bodies would be resolved by bringing them under the Russian Orthodox hierarchical structure. Furthermore, according to Panina, Ukraine’s anti-Russia attitude must be halted, and the SMO is the catalyst for this eventuality.]

In the best traditions of Sodom (which, above all, according to the Holy Scriptures, was destroyed because its residents had lost an understanding of Good and Evil, and, secondarily – for other “anomalies”), American political writers are saying that it is in Russia, in their opinion, that “religion is being used to support an authoritarian regime.”

Orthodoxy, in the words of the American publication, which on iconic Russian lands, beginning in Kyiv [italics mine in order to show the Russian nationalist mindset], was accepted more than a thousand years ago thanks to the Great Kievan Prince Vladimir, who was equal to the apostles, supposedly is the “ideology of the Russian World of Vladimir Putin” and “the instrument of the Kremlin.”

It is simply too hard for the authors of the publication to understand the phrase “to be Russian is to be Orthodox.” But they recognize that for many Russians, the cultural sphere, based on a common Orthodox faith, has the decisive meaning in self-identification.

The National Interest “is modestly keeping quiet” that in Russia, unlike America, no one was exterminating small nationalities and fighting against national customs and faith, as was happening during the genocide of the [native Americans], arranged by western colonizers who arrived on the continent.

Today, on the territory of a multinational Russia, traditional respect for any faith confession is undergirded by guaranteed norms of law. Only the activity of identified destructive sects is subject to restriction. [Italics mine: I would suggest that any denominational affiliation from Baptist to Jehovah’s Witness to Mormon, etc., is deemed to be ‘destructive,’ i.e., outside the umbrella of the Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical hierarchy and therefore, anti-inclusive! Of course, the fact that these ‘sects’ predominantly originated in the West is also a negative factor.]

Namely, because for the majority of Russians, it is obvious: there is a great confrontation between the Light and the Darkness and believers of the various religions have rallied. Tatars, Chechens, and other Muslims are fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in the SMO [Special Military Operation, i.e., Russia’s war on Ukraine] with Orthodox Slavs, Buddhists from Buryatia and Altai, Catholics of the western regions, and pagans from the north. Little Fathers [cleric title for Orthodox priests], mullahs, lamas, and shamans bless their sons for the just fight together with their brothers.

Therefore, no sort of slanderous Western propaganda and labels of “authoritarian power, hating freedom of religion” that enemies unsuccessfully try to stick to us, help. The international order, being led by the Americans, is quickly going into the past. They understand this in the U.S. too, and it is terrifying to them. Do you remember? “In what is power, brother? Power is in truth!” Meaning – we will win.

Source: https://russtrat.ru/think-tanks/5-may-2023-1440-11953