"Pussy Riot" divided the Orthodox

On March 11, 2012, it became known that not onlya letter was sent to Patriarch Kirill in defense of Pussy Riot, but also a letter expressing approval of the criminal prosecution of members of the group.

Despite the size of the punishment, group members must publicly repent, the authors of the text believe, and the patriarch must facilitate their repentance.

The authors of the letter directly say that their action is a response to Lydia Moniava’s letter. “ We believe that the preventive measure chosen by the court is completely justified ,” the letter says, “ although we learned that some people are now calling for the acquittal of the members of the punk group “Pussy Riot” and have asked you to petition the authorities about changing his preventive measure .”

The letter was signed by Dmitry Pakhomov, a member of the Council of Orthodox Public Associations at the Synodal RECR, Abbot Sergius (Rybko) and others.

Sources

• Orthodox Christians ask Patriarch Kirill to bring some sense into the members of “Pussy Riot” // Interfax-religion. 2012. March 11.