On the occasion of the All-Russian Day of Sobriety, celebrated on September 11, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia reminded the faithful that it is not alcohol that helps a person overcome any temptations, worries and difficulties, but strong faith and surrendering to God’s will.
“Any temptation, anxiety, worries or difficulties that people have in their lives are successfully overcome not with the help of alcohol and other intoxicants, but with strong faith and surrendering to the will of the Creator,” the Patriarch said in his address.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill added that only faith and surrendering to the will of God instill peace and joy in the heart, “which allow a person to adequately assess everything that happens, draw the right conclusions and make the right decisions.”
Recalling the story of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, with which the establishment of the Day of Sobriety is connected, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill emphasized that the Russian Church established this special day, reviving the pre-revolutionary tradition, “so that we do not lose spiritual vigilance.”
“Relying on Divine Revelation and vast patristic experience, the Church tirelessly testifies that excesses in food and intemperance in the use of intoxicating drinks cannot have good consequences, which we see in the example of King Herod,” added the Patriarch.
In conclusion, he encouraged believers “to watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:6), “so that our life flows in all piety and purity, in which may the Merciful Savior help us through the prayers of His Forerunner and Baptist John.”
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