Patriarch Kirill says Russian Orthodox Church has never condemned death penalty

Vladimir Gundyayev, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), amid the discussion in Russia about lifting the moratorium on the death penalty, stated that the ROC does not condemn this form of punishment, claiming that Jesus Christ himself did not condemn the death penalty.

Source: Russian media outlet Kommersant; Meduza, the Russian Latvia-based media outlet

Details: Kirill said that, "Jesus Christ did not condemn the death penalty, even though he himself unjustly suffered it." 

The cleric added that if a person poses a danger to society and cannot be "isolated", they must be "removed".

Quote: "The church has never condemned the death penalty if it was carried out according to the law, but, of course, it has never endorsed it either. That is the current response," he said.

Background:

• In June 2024, Alexander Bastrykin, Head of the Russian Investigative Committee, urged reconsidering the moratorium on the death penalty during a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. This call came in response to a terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. 
• Bastrykin, expressing his support for the death penalty, argued that it would be "very humane" if a criminal who had killed 70,80,100 people were "sentenced to capital punishment, to be shot". He also suggested that the moratorium could be lifted by a presidential decree without constitutional amendments.
• The pro-government United Russia party pledged to "explore" the possibility of reinstating the death penalty. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court acknowledged that it could discuss the topic, although its head, Valery Zorkin, later clarified that reinstating the death penalty is not feasible "within the framework of the current Constitution".

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