Kiev, July 26, Interfax – A spokesman for Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed his regret at an incident committed by a member of the feminist organization FEMEN during the Patriarch’s welcoming ceremony at the Kiev airport on Thursday.
Reuters / Gleb Garanich
“It is very deplorable that people should be trying to mar Patriarch Kirill’s beginning visit to Ukraine by such escapades,” Deacon Alexander Volkov, the head of the patriarchal press service, said in commenting on the incident.
A woman belonging to FEMEN approached the patriarch topless while he was talking to journalists at the airport and shouted ‘Go Away!’ before security apprehended her.
Father Alexander said the Church has frequently faced attacks and animosity, which “shows how many people understand that Patriarch Kirill’s visit to Ukraine is a huge and significant event.”
“Such incidents cannot overshadow the primate’s visit by any means but can only manifest a deep spiritual crisis in certain categories of society,” he added.
