Offended by the blog: Patriarch Kirill scolded the church for the inept presence on the web

“According to opinion polls, the church is one of the three social institutions, the level of trust in which on the part of society is the highest. However, if the influence of the church in society grows, the resistance to this influence also grows”, - the patriarch said. His words are quoted by Interfax.

According to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, now the society is trying to revive the propaganda of atheism, but the patriarch himself considers these futile attempts a relic of the past. More fear is caused by "new ideological clichés generated by secular (free from religious influence) philosophy and secular way of life, which sometimes become a weapon in the struggle against the church".

In this regard, the patriarch recommended blogging priests to be especially vigilant in spreading this or that information on their pages in social networks. “Along with brilliant examples of work in social networks, we have the experience of a very inept presence in the network, after which powerful criticism falls on certain statements of clergymen,” added Patriarch Kirill. He noted that the image of a clergyman in the Internet space should correspond both to his image in real life and to the cultural traditions of the people. He recommended to the Supreme Council of the Church to help the confused priests not to make mistakes in the network and refrain from making erroneous statements. The Patriarch added that it is clear to all readers of these statements that they are erroneous, with the exception of those who wrote these statements. He also asked not to go into political discussions of the church representatives. According to him, clergymen should not pick up fashion trends and points of view popular in certain circles and follow them.