The moscow-based "Russian Orthodox Church" (ROC) has deemed capital punishment acceptable as retribution for crimes, arguing that “Jesus Christ did not condemn the death penalty” and himself was a victim of it. This statement was made by Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev), the head of the church, during a meeting with former participants in the war in Ukraine, as reported by the Telegram channel "The Moscow Times".
According to the church leader, "after Christ's execution, the holy apostles did not consider capital punishment for crimes to be sinful".
“I want to clarify once again: the church has never condemned the death penalty if it was carried out according to the law, though, of course, it has never explicitly endorsed it either”, - Gundyaev stated ambiguously.
At the same time, he affirmed his support for russia’s current moratorium on the death penalty. “We should observe how this moratorium impacts the crime rate in our country. If crime decreases, then thank God, and there would be no need to apply the death penalty”, - the ROC head agreed.
Gundyaev did not specify whether adherents of the moscow church should observe the commandment “thou shalt not kill”.