Mercy for the Fallen

The Moscow Patriarchate believes that Russia has enough “internal strength” not to apply the death penalty.

The head of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, reminded Interfax-Religion that “in the best periods of Russian history, the death penalty was not practiced, and usually such a practice was directly related to the Christian worldview.”

“Of course, it is better that there is no death penalty: if society is strong enough to protect itself from crime and ill will, it can show mercy to criminals and not take their lives,” he said.

“Yes, in the Old Testament direct instructions are given to execute certain people, in the New Testament nothing is said about the denial of the death penalty. But Christian society is always aimed at maximum mercy, so that even the most terrible sinner has time for repentance, and this is reflected in the practice of Christian states,” the priest noted.

He expressed the opinion that today the country “has enough internal strength not to practice the death penalty,” but at the same time called for “firmly remembering: so that criminals do not feel their impunity, the action of the law must be inevitable.”