Vladimir Putin is seen crossing himself and shuffling uneasily during a ceremony in a place of worship where traditionally tsars confessed their sins in the Kremlin.
MOSCOW: Thursday Russia celebrated the solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, 25 December in to the old Julian calendar.
In the middle of the second wave of COVID-19 and despite the vaccination campaign that began at the end of December, the Russian Orthodox Church continues to be beset by numerous deaths among its clergy.
On 5 December, Father Oleg Burlakov (
pictured), a very active priest in the Diocese of Shakhtinsk, in the south of the country, died of the virus at the age of 59. Fr Oleg had become a priest at the age of 50 in 2011.
In 2020, the number of dead Orthodox priests and bishops tripled compared to a year before. Patriarch Kirill (Gundyayev) ordered all churches to celebrate Christmas liturgies only in the presence of a few faithful and upon invitation.