9 May 2007 | 07-0358 |

Sophia Kishkovsky
Moscow (ENI). Church bells rang across Russia on 9 May as Russians marked the 62nd anniversary of their victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. Victory Day is marked with special prayers in Russian Orthodox churches, and other ceremonies in recent days also underscored the church's participation in this day revered by most Russians.

"Among our people, reverence for fallen soldiers has always been present, and their sacrificial act of bravery was honoured as a heroism in the name of saving the Fatherland," said Patriarch Alexei II when he laid a wreath the previous day at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the foot of the Kremlin wall.

In comments reported on the www.sedmitza.ru Web site, which is affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, Alexei also condemned a decision by the Estonian government to relocate a Soviet war memorial away from the capital, Tallinn.

"I think revising history is the most ignoble deed," he said. "That which began in Estonia and continued in Poland is an insult to the sentiments of thanks and eternal memory worthy of those soldiers who gave their lives defending the peoples of Europe from fascism."

In the post-Soviet era, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian military have developed a close relationship that is promoted as a means of encouraging patriotism and discouraging the bullying of recruits that plagues the armed forces.

The commander of Russia's nuclear-armed Strategic Rocket Forces, Colonel General Nikolai Solovtsov, has said cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church and other religions "will serve towards the further enrichment of the spiritual and moral life of military servicemen".

Writing in Foma, a popular Russian Orthodox magazine whose May edition is devoted to military-related subjects, Solovtsov noted that 15 Orthodox churches and chapels have been built in recent years to serve military towns.

"The centuries-old history of Russia and its armed defence confirm the fact that without a high level of spirituality and respect for our history and traditions, that is without a unifying idea, there cannot be a strong army capable of defending the Fatherland and the interests of its people," wrote Solovtsov.

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