Dear reader! The following reading will certainly have different effects on different readers. But I want to be understood correctly:

● I am neither pro-Russian nor a utopian;

● This dream reflects not so much reality as what I consider to be right, both in terms of values ​​and in terms of achieving peace in Ukraine;

I am not a security expert or any other expert. I am a simple person, but I think along, I live along, and I have my own longings. It is natural that all this leaves its mark and I am no longer able to refrain from expressing myself. If this reading awakens any thoughts, I am happy.

And now the dream itself.

Today is a historic day. Something that no one believed or expected is happening.

We are in a prison chapel. The altar and the lectern are covered with purple covers, symbolizing half-mourning and repentance. A table has been placed in front of the altar, also covered with a purple cloth. Behind the table are two simple chairs and on the table are the national flags of Ukraine and Russia. Two documents bound in ceremonial leather are also placed on the table.

The signing of a peace treaty between Ukraine and the Fatherland is taking place, no more and no less.

First, the local prison chaplain takes the rostrum:

Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen. The word of God testifies against us today with the words from Jeremiah 40:3:

You have sinned.

Amen.

Yes, another great sin has occurred in the history of mankind. This is a grave and shameless war between two neighbors. The cause of the war was hysterical imperialism, and the suffering of the people and the people of Ukraine cannot be fairly estimated. This should never have happened.

Today we are here to repent of this sin and also to end this sin. In the future, it is the duty of all of us to do everything to prevent such things. Starting a war is the most heinous crime of all!

That is why today is especially precious! A just peace will triumph, human rights and the freedom of a people will triumph! God’s justice will triumph! Worship to God! Eternal memory to the fallen!

Amen!

As a prayer and in memory of the deceased, we sing the song “Bless, Creator Spirit!”

1. Bless, Creator Spirit, even in the night of the grave

those whom the enemy of hatred has killed in us!

You, mighty grace of life,

revive their dust

at that source of life, there in the homeland!

2. End the night of enmity, let Your kingdom come!

Put your hands together, You, reconcile everyone:

let us

rise from the mouth of the grave

new love!

Unite all the nations, unite everyone!

Now the presidents of Ukraine and Russia will sit at the table and the peace treaty will receive its signatures.

The next thing I remember from this dream is the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin:

Dear guests!

Today, this terrible war is over. The soldiers can return home to their families and our peoples can rebuild their peaceful lives.

I admit that this war did not have any positive goals. It was undertaken out of imperialist aspirations. We wanted to restore the glory of the former Russian Empire. And it led to immense suffering and losses. More than two million soldiers died and were seriously disabled. The enormous cost of the war, ecological and economic damage to both sides. The pain of the Ukrainian people is indescribable. Just as the damage caused to the mutual understanding of the two peoples is indescribable.

I and the Russian government have also damaged the reputation of our own country and disgraced our country’s army, because we sent the army to a shameful war, to commit inhumane acts and to certain death. The result was humiliating for Russia and the Russian army. It is sad that this humiliation turned out to be necessary so that we could come to our senses.

War destroys lives and shatters human destinies. This is how we understand the pain and suffering that millions of people are now carrying.

Russia takes full responsibility for what happened. We will pay for all material damage, reimburse veterans’ medical expenses, and compensate families for the loss of their breadwinners. And I and everyone who participated with me in starting this war will transfer all our worldly property to the reparation fund. We will return all the territory we have conquered. Including Crimea.

Russia’s policy towards its neighbors must also change. The freedom and human rights of peoples must be respected. Other peoples must not be dictated to what decisions they make and what they do not make. We recognize that it was our mistake to see our neighbors as a threat to ourselves when in fact there was no such threat. We recognize that our neighbors have suffered because of us throughout their history. We also take responsibility for them. What exactly we can do for our neighbors, we will discuss with them separately. It is also necessary to do everything to ease tensions in relations with our Western neighbors.

Personally, I immediately surrender myself to the Hague Tribunal today to humbly bear responsibility for my crimes.

Russia has a lot of work to do with itself. The imperialist and chauvinist mentality must die. The suspicious gaze towards the rest of the world must end. Ordinary people need security, care and freedom both in Russia and elsewhere in the world. The world needs united cooperation to meet common challenges and realize common opportunities.

I wish a new era of cooperation, friendliness and change of mind, peace and reconciliation for all of us!

Finally, I must fulfill the task I received from Patriarch Kirill. He also has an appeal to you, distinguished guests, and to all Christians of the Moscow Patriarchate:

The Bible calls:

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with all men! (Romans 12:18)

Amen

Unfortunately, this principle has been violated very often in the world. The war between Russia and Ukraine is undoubtedly one of the worst examples of this. As Patriarch, I acknowledge that the Russian Orthodox Church has greatly supported the Russian state in its imperialist behavior. I myself am responsible for justifying and even glorifying the war. I feel guilty that the churches of the Moscow Patriarchate in various countries have been at the service of Russian chauvinism and even the special services.

Therefore, I want to clearly state that:

● no chauvinism, the doctrine of the Third Rome, ethnophiletism, etc. are in harmony with the Gospel. These are false teachings that have no place in the Church. The most important thing is always Christ. If the Patriarch is the head of the Church, then Christ is above the Patriarch, and so the highest head of the Church is Christ. The Patriarch’s actions must not contradict Christ at any level. But as a Christian and as a Patriarch, I contradicted Christ;

● The highest task of the Church is to testify about Christ and preach the Gospel;

● The Church must, among other things, serve the peace of nations and do everything for the well-being of local society, serve people, bring peace between people and help sinners to repentance, and extend a helping hand to everyone who is in trouble in life;

● Inciting war is a crime. The attack on Ukraine was also a crime.

Therefore, I call on all Orthodox Christians to serve all people and glorify God. Pray for the repentance of all Russia, for the peace of the peoples, and for the healing of wounds!

I repent of my sins and resign from the patriarchate. A monastic life awaits me.

Be protected and blessed!

Then I woke up. I will not hide that it was a pleasant dream, but I am still a realist and realize that it was only a dream, and dreams usually do not coincide with life. As a member of a small people, I cannot believe in the repentance of Russia, I cannot believe that the leaders of Russia have the dignity and honesty to make such speeches and change Russia’s behavior in this way… And the transformation of spirituality is a very painful and slow process and requires repentance, which is difficult to expect in the case of Russia. And this is truly sad, because one cannot surrender and come to terms. The tragedy is that with today’s Russia, planet Earth is not very habitable.

Lord, have mercy!

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But if we think about it now, we have done an indescribable amount of evil as humans on almost all levels. Therefore, there would be a lot of reason to implement restorative justice in order to restore the world, both between people and between people and God.

What is important is that eventually a way is found to replace violence with reconciliation and to compensate for the harm caused.

I approach it, as the title suggests, from a Christian perspective, because:

● As a Christian, I believe that all people are created in the image of God, are truly valuable and deserve respect and love

● I believe that through covenantal renewal and grace, God overcomes anger and moves towards the restoration of relationships. God’s love for us continues even when our behavior is condemned.

● Loving one another is the ultimate challenge for Christians and humanity, especially in conflict situations.

This approach involves communication, friendliness, responsibility, forgiveness, confession, and reconciliation.

There are some important points on this path that must be firmly followed:

1. Admitting what happened. Nothing can be fixed if the evil that has occurred is not acknowledged and the harm caused is not understood.

2. Understanding the situation of those who have suffered.

3. Making ourselves aware of the so-called right values. Values ​​influence thinking, but values ​​and thinking influence our state, from which behavior results. Behavior has consequences, which in turn influence our thinking and also values ​​and beliefs.

4. Taking responsibility. Whoever has done evil and is capable of taking responsibility must also take responsibility. One must learn from mistakes and draw conclusions that will prevent evil in the future. This, of course, means courageous introspection and confession, i.e. uncompromising honesty before oneself, one’s fellow man and God. Responsibility must also be taken upon oneself for one’s future life.

Heavenly Father!

I, a poor sinful soul, come before You with gratitude that I can lay my heavy heart under the cross of Your Son. I have caused much pain to my loved ones and other people around me with my evil deeds. I have damaged my life and grieved You with all of it.

And now I take full responsibility before You and people for my past, present and future. I no longer want to make anyone cry tears of pain. I want to be a blessing to the people around me and also keep them in my prayers before You.

I know that I am weak as a person.

Therefore, I ask forgiveness for all the evil I have done and ask for the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I can improve my life as a blessing to my fellow men, a joy to myself and the glory of Your name.

Amen

5. Request for forgiveness.

Let it be clear here that this path is not a path of reconciliation with evil, but an opportunity for the erring one to turn from the evil path and start from a clean slate, but to do so, he must also consider it necessary to compensate for the evil he has done. If there is no such will, then there is no other option but to accept increasingly harsh punishments from God. And if that doesn’t help either, hell awaits.

The truth is that none of us can consider ourselves infallible. Therefore, there is always reason to critically review our actions. I believe that in light of the above, it is not at all bad to think through our planned actions:

1. What consequences and to whom will I cause them?

2. How is my planned action in line with my ideal values?

3. Am I ready to take responsibility? Don’t do anything for which you are not ready to answer.

It is true that on this path we cannot please God, but this is how a person who pleases God, i.e. a blessed person, lives. God’s way is also the way of restoration—the way of restoring the relationship between Him and man. He let His Son die on the cross to pay our penalty and forgive us, humans. Now we have the opportunity to make changes in our lives with the help of God’s Spirit.

By the way. Here is a beautiful story from the Bible, John 6:5-12:

When Jesus looked up and saw a large crowd coming to Him, He said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test Him, for He knew what He was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, for each one of them to have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” There was much grass in that place. So they sat down, in number about five thousand men. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he gave them to those who were seated on the ground, and of the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were full, Jesus said to his disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is wasted.”

This story teaches me the secret of Christian problem solving. If you have few resources, turn your worries to God and take action, and you will succeed.

Therefore, I believe that walking the path of repentance opens the gates of miracles. And this in every matter and at every level of human existence. I am of the opinion that every individual, but also every nation, state, and even the human race as a whole, has reason to walk the path of repentance. It is quite enough to make a small substitution in the concepts, i.e. to replace “person” with “state”, for example.

But in the end, the question is still what kind of life a so-called simple person should live. Among the subjects and next to me. The world is ultimately better when the so-called simple person has it better. May God help us!

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