On January 18, 2022, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Alexander Nevsky Skete near Peredelkino. In his sermon on that day, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church warned of a possible schism of part of Orthodoxy, Patriarchy reports.

“Today we must pray both for our Church and for all the Orthodox Churches, because through the Ecumenical Orthodox Church Divine grace is transmitted to people, so that no schisms, divisions that the enemy of the human race constantly sows, turn this or that Church into something deprived Divine grace. We know that not only people, but even the Churches, depart from God and are deprived of His grace.

History knows many examples of such apostasy, when entire Christian communities apostatized from the faith, distorted the true faith, entered into schisms, uniting with people who did not have the gift of Divine grace. Even today there is a threat that a part of Orthodoxy, under the influence of external powerful forces that have nothing to do with the Church, may be wounded by this sin and leave the Source of eternal life to that place where there is only ritual, but no Salvation.

That is why we especially call today those who are still considering who to be with – with the Church or with the schism. Brothers and sisters, this is not just a human choice, this is not a choice of where to live, this is not a choice where to go – to the right or to the left. This is the path to salvation or to death, because the path that leads us away from the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church deprives us of the grace of God,” preaches the Patriarch.