On the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin on November 4, 2025. After the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the faithful with a Primatial address.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!
Today we recall historical events related, among other things, to the glorification of the image of the Most Holy Theotokos, and it is impossible not to be surprised at what happened to our country then. After the death of John the Terrible, his son Theodore Ioannovich, who had no children, became king. And when kings have no heirs, there is always a desire for all kinds of political adventurers to seize power. After all, power was inherited, and if there is no inheritance, then strong, rich people with their own military squads have the opportunity to try to seize this power.
The period I am talking about now has entered the history of our Fatherland as a Time of Troubles. Why vague? Turmoil is madness. So, there was some kind of national madness, especially among the people in power, among the boyars, among those who considered themselves fully worthy to occupy the royal throne. And this struggle weakened Russia so much that if it had not stopped, then the kingdom of Moscow would have come to an end.
But the Lord, having led our people and our Church through the most difficult time of Troubles, preserved both our Fatherland and our Church. Of course, looking at that time from a great historical distance, you understand that all this was a miracle, which means that God intervened in our history. At that time, we were not able to repel the Polish troops, who were in many ways stronger, better armed, and better organized than the Moscow squads. And it is quite obvious that among the boyars of that time there were many who believed that it would be quite good if a Polish prince reigned: "Look how they are in Poland—everything is in order."; maybe we'll have more order." In other words, this turmoil was accompanied by internal betrayal, and most importantly, the weakening of the people's ability to discern spirits and remain faithful to their Church and their Fatherland.
But we know that the troubles have passed. It passed because the Lord bowed His mercy. After all, the events related to overcoming the troubles occurred as if contrary to logic, contrary to force — the most powerful military and political force that Poland represented. Suffice it to say that the Poles were in the Kremlin. In the Kremlin! And if it hadn't been for Patriarch Hermogenes, then maybe they would have stayed that way, and there would have been no Russia, there would have been no sovereign state of ours, but there would have been a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, which was what the Polish rulers of that time dreamed of, arrogantly believing that, and they will deal with this stupid Russia.
But nothing happened, and the Poles were expelled. And why? But because the Orthodox faith saved people. Muscovites understood that with the coming to power of foreign forces, the Orthodox faith would suffer first of all; it is unknown whether it would even exist in Russia. But the faith in which our ancestors were baptized under Prince Vladimir is the spiritual core, the foundation of the entire national spiritual and cultural life. It was faith that, in the most difficult moments of foreign military influence and internecine warfare, mobilized the people, giving them the strength to preserve their conscience and not cross the terrible line, which would be followed by the destruction of the Church and the country.
These are the events that unfolded during the Time of Troubles. Indeed, we were on the verge of death. And what factors contributed to this? First of all, envy. "They live well there, in Poland, better than we do; and they have cultural, economic, and military ties with the whole of Western Europe. So we must follow the same path that neighboring Poland followed, and then we will be just as strong and rich, and we will not have any special enemies!" This idea, as they say now, of globalism, or to put it more simply, subordination of the weaker to the stronger on a global or continental scale, struck then the consciousness of many Russian people, including, unfortunately, and in the power of those who exist. But there were also those who disagreed with this, first of all St. Hermogenes, Patriarch of All Russia. When the Polish troops entered the Kremlin, the first thing they did was to summon the Patriarch and demand that he recognize the new government. Moreover, he had to send a message to all the people, so that the people would follow him and also recognize the new government. In other words, they demanded such betrayal from Patriarch Hermogenes, which would be followed by the disappearance of Russia.
And we know that His Holiness did not flinch, even though he was severely tortured. In the underground casemates of the Kremlin, in the cold season, on a piece of straw, he slept practically without food and without drink, tormented by those who tried to wrest responsibility for the Church of God in Russia and for his people from his mind. It didn't work out! Russian Russian Orthodox Church Today, St. Hermogenes rests with his relics here in the main church of all Russia, and we pray, remembering his feat — both the spiritual feat of leading the Russian Church and the Russian people, and the physical feat of resisting foreign invaders.
During the following years of our country's historical existence, we passed through no less terrible and fateful trials than during the Time of Troubles. What was the cost of the revolution in our country, which destroyed the Orthodox country, proclaiming the construction of some kind of wonderful, fabulous world in which "whoever was nobody will become everything," "everyone will have their needs," and people will have everything they want! Only two things had to be done: to destroy those who were the bearers of historical memory and did not believe in this fairy tale, and to destroy the Church, which was the bearer of the conscience of the people and spiritual power.
We know that this terrible experiment lasted for decades. That during these times we went through wars, one of which was the most terrible in the history of the human race. We call it the Great Patriotic War, although in other places it is called the Second World War — in the sense that the whole world was involved in this conflict. Indeed, at that time a terrible threat loomed over our people, our country, and our Church, but the Orthodox faith did not disappear from the hearts of people. And even the rulers of that time, most of whom did not believe in God, at that very moment made a request to the then Locum Tenens, Metropolitan Sergius. Or maybe secretly, it cannot be ruled out, and they turned to God because they were very close to destruction. And the Lord has achieved — with the hands, consciousness, and will of our people — an unprecedented victory over the enemy who has overcome the whole of Europe.
Enumerating these historical events, I would like to say only one thing: Russia is invincible. Only the people should not abandon their faith, even in cases where external and internal political circumstances are not very favorable, as was the case during the Soviet Union. But you and I have preserved our faith, raised our children and grandchildren, and the period of godlessness has passed, so now even those people who are party-affiliated with the revolutionaries also come to Church and believe in God.
There has been a huge revolution in the consciousness of our people. Why? Yes, because the historical experience of Russia cannot leave a person indifferent to how it all happened. How, having found ourselves on the edge of a precipice, already being political corpses in the minds of other nations, we have repeatedly been resurrected. The people were resurrected, and Russia once again became a great invincible country.
How important it is that we have passed the time of godlessness! And today, I want to emphasize once again that our President, the Prime Minister, those in power, and military leaders are Orthodox people, and this means a lot, because in their labors they invoke God's help with prayer. And our task today is to pray for the authorities and the armies. Not "automatically", not only as it is written in the service book, but every time we connect our prayer with specific people and, of course, with those who are defending the freedom of our country on the battlefield today.
This is how church history is intertwined with secular history. And what does that mean? This means that the Lord is present both in the life of the people and in the life of the country. But on one condition — if the people do not renounce God, if the people do not stop praying, if the people do not renounce the spiritual and moral principles of human existence and human community, which alone lead to fullness of life, and therefore to human happiness.
I would like to emphasize once again: living in prosperous conditions and remembering tragic but heroic times, we must thank the Lord for both the past and the present, and ask Him for the future, so that the Lord may have mercy on our country and our people, strengthen the Orthodox faith in the hearts of people, protect them from every enemy and the enemy, as well as from all kinds of temptations that distance a person from God, and therefore deprive him of the ability to rely on the power of God.
I once again congratulate you on this wonderful holiday! Remembering the heroic pages of the life of the people and the Church, it is impossible not to thank the Lord for everything — for what we went through as a people, for surviving the most difficult conditions of wars, for preserving the Orthodox faith during times of terrible, unprecedented persecution, and for the fact that we We are gathering with you in the center of our Homeland, in this cathedral of all Russia, in the Assumption Cathedral, to glorify the name of our Lord and Savior and to thank the Most Pure Queen of Heaven for Her mercy, for Her Protection over our country and over all of us. Happy holidays, my dears! God bless you and Mother of God!