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Holy struggle for people’s souls prioritise – Patriarch Kirill.

He called for organising nationwide celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the victory over the 1612 Time of Troubles

MOSCOW, October 1 (Itar-Tass) — Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russias said he is convinced that the holy struggle for people’s souls prioritised in the times of information wars.

“When information wars replace physical battles and when the holy struggle for people’s souls prioritise we should not forget about the existence of sacred landmarks that should be defended as our ancestors protected our boundaries on the Nepryadva River, in Borodino and in Stalingrad,” Patriarch Kirill said by opening the World Russian People’s Assembly on Monday.

The patriarch noted, “This year we’ve marked the 1150th anniversary of the Russian state and the 200th anniversary of the 1812 Patriotic War.” He called for organising nationwide celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the victory over the 1612 Time of Troubles.

The forum devoted to the Russian history path involved over 1,500 people – representatives of different public and political movements. Among the guests of the forum are Federation Council chairperson Valentina Matviyenko, chief of staff Sergei Ivanov, Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky and chairman of the Union of Writers Valery Ganichev.

Addressing the participants in the forum, President Vladimir Putin said for years this authoritative forum “gathered outstanding people who held acute discussions”. The president said he is hopeful that the wise advices and assessments “will serve the common cause – the development of culture, education and the strengthening of moral”.

The forum, which is being held since 1993, is a platform for free discussions on the fate of Russian statehood by different political and public forces. The Russian Orthodox Church and its primate, Patriarch Kirill (earlier Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk) initiated such forum.