God is judging Pussy Riot, says Russian church leader
31st July 2012
A top official in the Russian Orthodox church said on Tuesday that the trial of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot had been willed by God, and called on Russia to do away with its secular state.
Three members of Pussy Riot stand accused of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred following a February performance in Russia's main cathedral aimed at protesting against Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency.
"It was a sin against God and it is God that is judging it," Vsevolod Chaplin, a high-ranking priest who often acts as the church's spokesman, said. "And all Christians should know this."
The trial entered its second day on Tuesday, with the questioning of nine Orthodox Christians who said they were insulted when they saw the punk performance, entitled Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Out! Chaplin denied accusations that the church had promoted the persecution of the three Pussy Riot members – Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich – who face up to seven years in prison if found guilty. "The church does not put any pressure on the court," he said.
The three women have said they performed their anti-Putin "punk prayer" to protest against the decision of the leader of the Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, to openly support Putin in the lead-up to presidential elections in March. Chaplin denied any such support. The patriarch has repeatedly praised Putin and denounced protesters who have taken to the streets against him. In February, two weeks before Pussy Riot's performance, he called the Putin era "a miracle of God".
Miriam Elder | Read this article in full at guardian.co.uk
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God is judging Pussy Riot, says Russian church leader
31st July 2012
A top official in the Russian Orthodox church said on Tuesday that the trial of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot had been willed by God, and called on Russia to do away with its secular state.
Three members of Pussy Riot stand accused of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred following a February performance in Russia's main cathedral aimed at protesting against Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency.
"It was a sin against God and it is God that is judging it," Vsevolod Chaplin, a high-ranking priest who often acts as the church's spokesman, said. "And all Christians should know this."
The trial entered its second day on Tuesday, with the questioning of nine Orthodox Christians who said they were insulted when they saw the punk performance, entitled Virgin Mary, Chase Putin Out! Chaplin denied accusations that the church had promoted the persecution of the three Pussy Riot members – Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich – who face up to seven years in prison if found guilty. "The church does not put any pressure on the court," he said.
The three women have said they performed their anti-Putin "punk prayer" to protest against the decision of the leader of the Orthodox church, Patriarch Kirill, to openly support Putin in the lead-up to presidential elections in March. Chaplin denied any such support. The patriarch has repeatedly praised Putin and denounced protesters who have taken to the streets against him. In February, two weeks before Pussy Riot's performance, he called the Putin era "a miracle of God".
Miriam Elder | Read this article in full at guardian.co.uk