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The Russian Orthodox Church explained the patriarch's words regarding the admissibility of the death penalty
The Christian Church has never condemned the death penalty as unacceptable, Moscow Patriarch Kirill and Olus said during a meeting with participants in the "Hour of Heroes" program. (Project for training veterans of the Northern Military District as managers)
"The death penalty has existed throughout the history of mankind. "The Lord Jesus Christ did not condemn the death penalty, although He Himself deserved it," the patriarch noted.
In his opinion, the Bible does not prohibit the death penalty. He argued this with the words of the New Testament: "Evil must be cleansed from people."
“The Word of God says: ‘Samekh, remove evil from yourselves.’ That is, if there is a person in society who is the most dangerous and cannot be contained in any way, he must be removed,” the patriarch explained.
He added that the Bible does not directly oppose the death penalty. According to the patriarch, if the authors had wanted, they could have given instructions on this matter, citing the unjust murder of Jesus as an example. But the apostles did not do this.
"Of course, killing a person as punishment for a crime is an extreme measure. Therefore, it would be ideal if people did not commit crimes punishable by death," Patriarch Kirill said.
Speaking about the current attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to the death penalty, the Patriarch noted that if everything is done according to the law, then the Church "never condemned it" and at the same time "never welcomed the death penalty." In modern Russia, the Patriarch believes, the main focus should be on the level of crime in the country. In any case, if it falls, there will be no need to execute.
"Of course, society can reject the death penalty if it is considered excessive punishment, in many cases incompatible with the crime, and if the execution itself has a negative impact on public morality," the chief emphasized.
He also recalled that life sentences exist in Russia. The Patriarch noted that this is also a terrible punishment.
"Now I have been sentenced to life imprisonment? Please do it. "I do not know what is best for the people," the patriarch reasoned.
At the same time, in his personal opinion, . The Patriarch stated that he personally confessed to prisoners serving life sentences. He especially remembered one person who confessed his priestly practice more than others.
"Of course, it would be ideal if people were not deprived of life. But let those who determine the degree of punishment from the point of view of the law do this," the patriarch summed up his answer.
Following his speech, the Russian Orthodox Church said its position remained unchanged. Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy chairman of the Synod for Public Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, said the Russian Orthodox Church welcomes life imprisonment as an opportunity for repentance.
"Historically, the church was not structured in such a way as to directly demand the abolition of the death penalty. <...> The church has always testified that the abolition of the death penalty opens up opportunities for pastoral care of criminals sentenced to death. That is, they can be sentenced to life imprisonment, and some can repent," Kipshidze explained.
He added that there are currently no grounds for returning the death penalty to Russia. The Church sees no grounds for a new discussion on this issue.
The death penalty has been effectively banned in Russia since 1997. At that time, the Russian authorities signed but did not ratify the relevant protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. In 1999, the Constitutional Court banned the death penalty without a jury, and in 2009, it made the death penalty mandatory. The last death sentence was carried out in 1996, when serial killer Sergei Golovkin (aka Fisher) was shot. Despite the reprieve, the death penalty as a punishment is provided for by Article. In particular, Article 59 of the Criminal Code for serious crimes against life requires "execution in private."
Valery Zorkin, head of Russia's Constitutional Court, said the death penalty could only be reinstated by adopting a new constitution in the fall of 2022. The chairman explained that this was not about amendments, but about adopting a new fundamental law. Neither a referendum on the issue nor any federal law could lift the moratorium.
“If the authors who advocate for this are ready [for such a change], then, as they say, good riddance,” Zorkin said.
In the summer of 2024, Zorkin said that Russia's moratorium on the death penalty was an example of legislation that should not be changed, despite some changes.
He also said that lifting the moratorium on executions would, in principle, send a very bad signal to society.
"Just as the threat against which action is taken is 'mobile', so are the measures taken to counter it. <...> However, this 'mobility' has its limits. "For the Constitutional Court, one of them is the conviction that it is unacceptable to renew the imposition and application of the death penalty within the framework of the current Constitution," he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly opposed to the resumption of executions in 2007.
"I believe that the death penalty is senseless and counterproductive. "The senselessness of the death penalty has been proven by the thousand-year history of mankind and modern civilization," he emphasized.
Later, at the end of 2022, Putin briefly stated that his personal position “in this sense has not changed,” since restoring the death penalty would require changing the constitution.