Head of the Russian Orthodox Church Compared the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage with Nazi-Era Legislation

The head of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill compared same-sex marriage laws adopted by a number of Western countries to Nazi-era legislation in Germany, RIA Novosti reported. In France and other Western European countries, he said, people have protested against these laws just as people did “against fascist legislation and against apartheid legislation, laws that violated morality.”

The Patriarch added that these laws violate integral moral values espoused by the Orthodox Church and that society will become “unviable” unless this “historical temptation” passes.

The patriarch’s is a powerful voice in Russia and one that resonates across Russian society, and most importantly its power circles. The Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church picked anti-LGBTQ issues as a joint cause and a reason why Russians should reject Western values. Over the last five years, the narrative that the West is “imposing” LGBTQ tolerance and other liberal values has become popular not only in Russia but across many traditional societies of the former Soviet Union.