Grigory Pasko: A Putin-Worshipping Cult

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I recently stumbled upon an interesting report about a group of Orthodox ascetics, living deep in the Russian hinterlands, who have adopted an iconographic image of Vladimir Putin in its religious rituals.

In a previous lifetime, Putin was the apostle Paul, — reported the Mother. — But the president and I have a long-standing spiritual connection. In another life he was the prince Vladimir, and I the princess Olga.  In yet another hypostasis he was Solomon,  and I — the queen of Sheba,” – declared the head of the believers, who goes by the name of Mother Photinia (on her passport — Svetlana Frolova). [It should be noted that the mainstream Russian Orthodox Church does not believe in reincarnation and never has–Trans.]

Specially for the parishioners in the church they publish a newspaper «Temple of light». On the pages of this publication one can read exclusive «interviews» with the apostle Paul, Seraphim of Sarov, and even the Virgin Mary herself. Likewise here are constantly voiced not only the addresses of «the spiritual personage» Photinia to Putin and Alexiy II <> [He was still alive then–G.P.], but also the replies of these highly-placed persons. The novices are convinced that the president and the patriarch personally support their abbess.


Thepublication notes that in the year 1996, Frolova had been convicted offraud and had spent a year and a half in jail. Until then, she hadworked as director of a trade-and-procurement base of the Gorkyrailroad.

The next reportproclaimed: ever more employees of the administration of the FSB forRostov Oblast are turning to faith in God.

Spirituality – our foremost resource, a tradition, by which one cannot go back into the past. With satisfaction I note that among us isgrowing the number of employees who turn to faith“, – declared tojournalists the chief of the oblast administration of the FSB,colonel-general Nikolai Britvin.

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To this can be added that in days of old, they used to call icons”books for the illiterate”. Either we’ve got more illiterates in Russianowadays, or those who write the «books» have changed drastically. Ingeneral, an icon (Greek: “εἰκών”) – “image”, “depiction” – this is acanonical (pictorial) depiction of an image of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, saints, as well as eventsfrom Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition,confirmed by the Churchat the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

I may be mistaken, but I somehow don’t seem to recall any recentEcumenical Council where they might have confirmed a canonicaldepiction of Putin.

In one of the research pieces dedicated to Russian iconography, I read: “In the Russian icon is absent a conscious striving for elegance. Itdoes not know and does not want to know beauty as such, and if it issaved from hideousness, then only because it is permeated with thereverence towards sanctity and divinity of the personalities depicted…

Vladimir Vladimirovich, of course, has been practically a saint for along time already: he is simultaneously the «leader of the nation», andthe chief party member, and the chief economist, and above thepresident (although by the status of the position occupied he standslower); he is also an athlete, and a friend of children and dogs, and apsychotherapist (they say that his appearances on television soothe theentire country)… And finally, in Russia there are several monuments toPutin, a Prospect Named After Putin in Grozny, a collective farm namedafter Putin someplace in the Altai. It all sounds pretty saintly to me…

Only one small matter remains: to officially confirm the image ofV.V.Putin in a canonical capacity following the initiative of a groupof Orthodox ascetics.

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