On the Monday of Holy Week, April 21, 2025, at the festive meal at the end of the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, addressing the participants of the meal, shared his thoughts on the peculiarities of the modern historical period, as well as the role and tasks of the Church in modern Russia. 
"What is happening in Russia today is a miracle of God. After all, the Soviet Union set the task of completely eradicating religion, and my entire childhood and youth coincided with the time of persecution of the Church," His Holiness noted. — These persecutions also affected our family, but we were all raised in faith and willingness to suffer for the Lord. That's what my father taught me, and especially my grandfather, who went through 46 prisons and 7 exiles — not because he was a counter-revolutionary or a monarchist, but because he fought against Renovationism and fought against the closure of churches. My grandfather did a lot to shape my worldview, and his motto was: "Never be afraid of anything — only fear God!" It was strange to hear such a thing from a man who had been through prisons and camps, but at some point I realized that these were very correct words."
"You don't have to be afraid of anything — you have to be afraid of God! — said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. — After all, the most important thing for a person is to preserve himself, to preserve faith in his heart, and without God nothing good can happen, and every person, whoever he may be, should realize this. Both my grandfather and my father went through prison only because they were believers, but when the question of choosing a life path arose in front of me, I firmly decided to follow in their footsteps, well aware of how this path could turn out." 
"But the Lord has blessed us, and wonderful changes have taken place in the life of our country, our state," His Holiness the Patriarch continued. — The whole experience of our country is the most convincing proof that God is with us! And the Orthodox president who came from the depths of the secret services? How did it happen that out of the thousands of people who worked there, there appeared someone whom the Lord called to become the head of the Russian state? Of course, there are different ways to explain how this could happen, but I only explain one thing: it is God's Providence. After tsarist times, for the first time, an Orthodox Christian is at the head of our state. He is a modern man, well educated and very motivated to defend his Fatherland."
"Indeed, God's blessing is upon our country, upon our people, and upon our Church. And in response to this, we must all work with full dedication, especially our episcopate and our priests," the Primate emphasized. — It's very easy to relax now — the clergy are respected and financially secure, especially in large cities. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, it is very important that we do not become like the madman from the gospel parable, who said: "soul! eat, drink, and be merry" (see Luke 12:19). We must work in a way that the generations before us could not, in order to strengthen faith, especially among our youth and our intelligentsia. Because the time is favorable not for relaxation, but for the concentration of our forces, for the service of our Church, martyr and confessor, to God and the Fatherland."
According to His Holiness, the clergy "should have a heightened sense of pastoral responsibility not only for our parishioners, but for our entire people, because the temptations and temptations that fall upon modern man cannot even be compared in their destructive power with what happened in Soviet times." "Back then, there was primitive atheistic propaganda, which everyone laughed at, realizing that the authorities could do nothing with faith. The external circumstances were difficult, but in principle it was not dangerous for the Church. But what is happening now is very dangerous," His Holiness the Patriarch said. — We have before our eyes an example of Western countries where Christianity is formally present, but religiosity is falling catastrophically. We still have a desire to "catch up with the West" — but God forbid that we become like them! We are not talking about scientific and technological progress or the material provision of people; but we must preserve our faith, which means our identity, our national, spiritual authenticity, and our sovereignty."
"Sovereignty should extend not only to the possibility of having nuclear weapons and powerful Armed forces," His Holiness continued. — Sovereignty is primarily the state of our brains, our beliefs. And in this, dear fathers and brothers, the role of the Church is probably crucial. We have to think about our people. We must protect him from temptations, followed by the destruction of his personal, family, and social life."
"Therefore, no relaxation, no resting on our laurels — we must really work! What is happening today is what our fathers dreamed of, including the participants in the Council of 1917-1918, and God grant that the efforts we are making work to strengthen the Orthodox faith and the true sovereignty of our country," concluded the Primate.