At a meeting with participants of the program «Time of Heroes», Patriarch Kirill answered a question about the necessity of the death penalty in Russia.
«The death penalty has been present throughout human history. The Lord Jesus Christ did not condemn the death penalty, even though He Himself undeservedly suffered it», — stated the patriarch, adding that the church has never insisted on abolishing this punishment.
«Of course, killing a person as punishment for their crimes is an extreme measure. Ideally, people should not commit such crimes that would lead to the death penalty. But in the word of God, there are such words: «Remove the evil from among you». That is, if there is a person who is extremely dangerous to society and it is impossible to isolate them, they need to be removed. The Lord does not say: «kill him», but «remove the evil from among you». <…> The Church has never condemned the death penalty if it was carried out according to the law, but, of course, it has never welcomed the death penalty anywhere, — stated the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. He also clarified that he welcomes the current moratorium on the death penalty in Russia.
«Important Stories»* noted that in 2011 and 2021, the Russian Orthodox Church opposed the death penalty, declaring the «inviolability of life». Moreover, in March 2022, the head of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for Church Relations with Society and the Media, Vladimir Legoyda, stated that the Church opposes the death penalty.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Photo: AGN Moscow