Muslims and Orthodox Pray to the Same God

Part I documented Patriarch Kirill’s ecumenism with Rome. The following four chapters examine a broader pattern: his treatment of non-Orthodox religions as possessing divine truth, valid prayer, and saving grace.

Some may dismiss Patriarch Kirill’s meeting with the Pope and his related gestures in the previous chapters as minor issues. Of course, they think differently than the saints, who did not see these things as small matters.

However, what follows will be harder to cast aside: from 2011 to the present (2025), Patriarch Kirill has made repeated favorable statements about Islam and Muslims.

Before examining the direct statements, the faithful should understand the Orthodox teaching on Islam and salvation.

A. What the Saints Teach About Islam and Salvation

St. John of Damascus on Islam as Heresy

The Orthodox Fathers did not treat Islam as merely another “tradition” addressing the same God in a different way. They identified it as a heresy that denies the Trinity and the Sonship of Christ.

St. John of Damascus (676-749), writing while living under Muslim rule, identified Islam as a heretical forerunner of Antichrist:

There is also the superstition of the Ishmaelites which to this day prevails and keeps people in error, being a forerunner of the Antichrist… From that time to the present a false prophet named Mohammed has appeared in their midst. This man, after having chanced upon the Old and New Testaments and likewise, it seems, having conversed with an Arian monk, devised his own heresy.

— St. John of Damascus, On Heresies, Chapter 101, “On the Ishmaelites”, http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx^[1]

St. John of Damascus tells us that Islam, and thus all Muslims, have adopted heresy.

St. Symeon of Thessalonica, writing six centuries later, confirmed the same judgment.

And while these Heathens [Muslims] profess that God exists, they remain complete atheists, just as they were in the beginning, having no knowledge of the true God. Neither do they confess the beginningless Father of the living Word, who is unoriginate, cause of all, and who exists eternally, the begetter of the living Wisdom, the Only-begotten and incorporeal Son, and the emitter of the true Life, the good and Holy Spirit that sanctifies and gives life to all. For these senseless people deny the Son and incorporeal Word of God and the divine and lifegiving Spirit that is from Him.

— St. Symeon of Thessalonica, Against All Heresies, Ch. 14: “Against the Muslims”, pp. 54-55^[2]

Despite professing that God exists, Muslims remain atheists in the Orthodox sense because they deny the Trinity.

Important note: St. Symeon refers to Muslims as “Heathens” (Ἐθνικοί) above and throughout this chapter, as the translators note, because they were widely considered idolaters.

Scripture likewise forbids religious syncretism and joint religious practice:

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.

— 2 Corinthians 6:14–16^[3]

The Council of Constantinople (1180): Allah Is Not the God of the Bible

Beyond individual Fathers, the Church spoke in council on this question:

The General Council at Constantinople in 1180 concerning the God of Muhammad determined that Allah was totally unrelated to the God of Scripture. Allah was invented by Muhammad, who misinterpreted the Old and New Testament.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 21

This is a conciliar ruling. The Church has already spoken: the God described in the Quran is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Those who claim otherwise simply contradict the judgment of the Church.

St. Cyprian and the Unanimous Patristic Witness

The Orthodox Church and the Fathers have unanimously taught that salvation is found only within the Orthodox Church. The idea that Muslims worship the same God as Orthodox Christians is not only false, but subtly seeks to overturn this principle.

St. Cyprian of Carthage (d. 258) established the foundational principle known as extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no salvation):

He who forsakes the Church of Christ attains not to the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger; he is profane; he is an enemy. He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.

— St. Cyprian of Carthage, De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate (On the Unity of the Catholic Church), §6. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050701.htm

St. Irenaeus of Lyons (d. 202), writing less than a century after the last apostle, taught the same:

[The Church] is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account we are bound to avoid them… We hear it declared of the unbelieving and the blinded of this world that they shall not inherit the world of life which is to come.

— St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 4, §1; Chapter 7, §2. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103304.htm^[4]

Orthodox Christians are not called to judge the salvation of individual persons, even those outside the saving faith of Orthodoxy. However, the Church has never taught that salvation is ordinary or normative outside the Church.

St. Cyprian’s principle stands: the Church is the ark. Those who deliberately reject the ark while the flood is coming cannot expect to be saved.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov addressed those who claim that good Muslims can be saved without Christ:

In vain, mistakenly, you think and say that good people among Muslims will be saved, that is, will enter into communion with God! In vain do you regard the contrary view as a novelty, as though it were a creeping error! No! Such is the constant teaching of the true Church, both Old Testament and New Testament. The Church has always recognized that there is only one means of salvation: the Redeemer! … He who acknowledges the possibility of salvation without faith in Christ denies Christ, and perhaps unknowingly falls into the grave sin of blasphemy.

— St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Collected Works, Vol. IV (Symphony: “Islam”)

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev: The God of Islam Is Not the God of the Church

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev of Moscow was murdered by Islamic extremists in 2009 for his witness to Christ and his ministry converting Muslims to Orthodoxy. Though not yet officially glorified, he is widely venerated as a hieromartyr. His books were approved for publication by the Publications Board of the Russian Orthodox Church, making him one of the most famous and well-loved contemporary Russian priests.

His success in converting Muslims was the very reason he was martyred, making him a reliable and worthy witness on Islam and Muslims.

Hieromartyr Daniel spoke bluntly on this question:

We should never identify the God revealed in Holy Writ with the God worshipped by the Muslims. They are different, and we cannot say that the Muslims and we have one God.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 23

He identifies Allah as a mental idol:

Objectively speaking, Muhammad built himself a mental idol. That is, the Allah described in the Quran does not exist: it is a distorted picture, a parody of the true God, imposed on Muhammad by an evil force.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 23

Some argue that sharing belief in “one God” is meaningful common ground. Hieromartyr Daniel dismantles this:

As for monotheism… Well, it does little good to worship one god if it is the wrong one, doesn’t it? In principle, satanism could also be considered monotheism. But this will do little good. Worshipping Satan alone is bad. I am not saying that Islam is Satanism; that would not be right. I am saying specifically that monotheism in and of itself is not progress.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, pp. 99-100

Monotheism does not benefit Muslims, because salvation is not determined by whether one worships a single God, but whether one is part of the Church instituted by Christ.

The Orthodox Church is the only place of salvation. Are you numbered among the saved? How does one determine that? Very simple. Briefly list verses that include the biblical requirements for salvation. And, as a result, you will have the Orthodox Church as the only place of salvation. Why does a Roman Catholic perish? Because he is a heretic, his apostolic faith is broken.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Instructions for the Fisher of Men, p. 60

Notice the final line: the Roman Catholic perishes. The saints have repeatedly stated similarly of those outside the Orthodox Church. Patriarch Kirill has never uttered such a statement. He has gone in the opposite direction repeatedly.

Many are afraid of bishops and priests in our time. Hieromartyr Daniel, on the other hand, rebuked even bishops who thought Muslims could be saved, giving no thought to their position in the hierarchy:

Fr. Daniel rebuked those, even bishops who think that Muslims can be saved, as Christians, because Christ said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh to the Father, but by Me.

— Ludmila Esipenko, “Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Whose Home Was Always in Heaven,” https://orthochristian.com/127978.html

It is not “improper” to correct a priest, a bishop, or even a hierarch in matters of the Orthodox Faith, as previously established with the teachings of St. Basil the Great and other glorified saints.

Let no one claim that only saints are allowed to do this.

Hieromartyr Daniel states that Muslims who do not repent of their religion will certainly perish:

…Islam as a religion has nothing in common with us. Their God is not our God, and they do not revere Christ. They do not revere the Mother of God. Their religion is very different from the faith of Revelation, and so naturally all Muslims must accept Divine Revelation. Otherwise they will certainly perish with no hope of salvation, because they do not believe in the Son of God. The Lord says that whoever rejects the Only-begotten Son of God “will not see life; God’s wrath is resting on him.”

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 58

With this witness established, the statements of Patriarch Kirill will be examined.

B. The Evidence: A Consistent Pattern (2011-2025)

2011: Islam Shares “Divine Revelation” with Christianity

On November 15, 2011, Patriarch Kirill declared:

Традиционные религии — и христианство, и ислам — сохраняют основанный на Божественном Откровении критерий различения добра и зла.

The traditional religions, Christianity and Islam, preserve the criterion of discernment between good and evil, grounded in Divine Revelation.

— Patriarch Kirill, Balamand University (Lebanon), November 15, 2011, http://yarcenter.ru/articles/religion/andculture/patriarkh-kirill-o-svetskoy-etike-i-religioznoy-morali-45142/

Patriarch Kirill first claims that Islam is a “traditional religion.” Which Orthodox saint taught that? Can something deemed heresy by the saints be considered traditional?

Patriarch Kirill then claims Islam is “grounded in Divine Revelation,” placing Islam’s moral criterion above natural law or common human conscience: at the level of Divine Revelation.

What, then, is this shared “criterion of good and evil” that Patriarch Kirill mentions between Christianity and Islam?

• Polygamy? Islam permits it. The Church forbids it.
• Divorce? Islam allows it freely. Christ says “What God has joined, let no man separate.”
• The Cross? Islam calls it a deception. Christianity calls it the power of God unto salvation.
• The divinity of Christ? Islam denies it. The Church confesses it.

The Orthodox Church teaches that Divine Revelation is found in Christ, entrusted to the Church, and nowhere else. Islam is a heresy that denies the Trinity, the Sonship of Christ, and the Cross.

Therefore, there is no common morality because there is no common Christ.

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev explains why the very concept of “shared moral values” between religions is incoherent:

We need to remember that morality is a secularized version of the commandments. There is no concept of absolute morality. There is a concept of values that proceed from Scripture.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 106

If values proceed from Scripture, and Islamic scripture fundamentally contradicts Christian Scripture on the nature of God, the person of Christ, the meaning of salvation, and the way of life, then “shared values” is a category error. There is no neutral moral ground that both religions occupy. There are only the commandments of Christ, which Islam rejects.

2012: Four Religions, One Goal

On December 13, 2012, Patriarch Kirill met with muftis in Kislovodsk. In his address, he declared that Orthodox Christians and Muslims “belong to a common system of values”:

«Вот тогда мы будем уважать друг друга, любить друг друга, понимать, что мы принадлежим к общей системе ценностей».

Then we will respect each other, love each other, and understand that we belong to a common system of values.

— Patriarch Kirill, meeting with muftis, Kislovodsk, December 13, 2012. http://www.patriarchia.ru/article/95211

He then discussed religious education in Russian schools, where students choose between courses on Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, or Judaism. Responding to concerns that separate classes might divide children, Kirill articulated his vision:

«Если мы направим на достижение единой цели и православный, и исламский, и буддистский, и иудаистский курсы, то в результате мы будем иметь взаимные добрые отношения».

If we direct the Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist, and Jewish courses toward the achievement of one goal, then as a result we will have mutual good relations.

— Patriarch Kirill, same address

This is religious syncretism stated plainly. Four religions, one goal. But Orthodox Christianity teaches that the goal of human existence is theosis: union with God through Christ in the Church. Islam denies the Trinity. Buddhism denies a personal God entirely. How can these be directed toward “one goal” unless that goal is reduced to something less than Christ?

The “common system of values” Kirill proclaims is precisely the error Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev identified: treating morality as a neutral ground independent of its theological foundation.

2015: Celebrating the Construction of Moscow’s Grand Mosque

On September 24, 2015, Patriarch Kirill met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and spoke positively about the construction of a new mosque in Moscow:

«Мы рады, что, наконец, построена эта большая мечеть в городе Москве. Она станет местом для молитвы многих мусульман, которые живут здесь или посещают Москву».

We are glad that, finally, this great mosque has been built in the city of Moscow. It will become a place of prayer for many Muslims who live here or visit Moscow.

— Patriarch Kirill, meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, September 24, 2015. http://www.patriarchia.ru/article/49486

Compare this to Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev’s teaching (quoted later in this chapter) that funding mosque construction makes one an apostate. Patriarch Kirill celebrates the mosque, while the martyred priest condemns any Orthodox support for it.

Patriarch Kirill continued, describing Muslims as “brothers”:

«Самое же главное — добрые православно-мусульманские отношения создают атмосферу для того, чтобы и мусульмане здесь жили спокойно, и православные относились к мусульманам уважительно, терпимо и по-братски».

Most importantly, good Orthodox-Muslim relations create an atmosphere for Muslims to live here peacefully, and for Orthodox Christians to treat Muslims with respect, tolerance, and as brothers.

— Patriarch Kirill, meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, September 24, 2015. http://www.patriarchia.ru/article/49486

2016: “Islam and Orthodoxy Call People to Peace”

On July 20, 2016, upon arriving in Kazan, Tatarstan, Patriarch Kirill made this statement:

«А мое обращение ко всем — и к православным, и к мусульманам — живите в мире, исполняйте заповеди, который каждый должен исполнять в соответствии со своими религиозными обязательствами. Тогда не будет вражды, потому что и ислам, и Православие призывают людей к миру и к добрым отношениям друг с другом. А иначе и быть не может, ведь если люди верят в Бога, они не могут сеять вокруг себя зло и ненавидеть друг друга».

My appeal to everyone, both Orthodox and Muslims, is: live in peace, fulfill the commandments that each must fulfill according to their religious obligations. Then there will be no enmity, because both Islam and Orthodoxy call people to peace and to good relations with one another. It cannot be otherwise: if people believe in God, they cannot sow evil around themselves or hate one another.

— Patriarch Kirill, statement at Kazan airport, July 20, 2016. http://www.patriarchia.ru/article/52235

“Fulfilling the commandments that each is called to fulfill according to their religion” treats Islam and Christianity as parallel paths of obedience to God. If both religions call people to “peace and good relations,” and if “believing in God” prevents one from sowing evil regardless of which religion one follows, then what distinguishes Orthodox faith from Islamic submission?

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, who knew Islam intimately, explained the reality behind such claims of “peace”:

The principle is followed to this day in countries where Muslims are in the minority and unable to exercise power. In these cases Islam may be regarded as a peaceful religion that hurts no-one, that supports no evil deeds or acts of terrorism. But this is only the guise of Islam. As soon as Muslims gain power, they declare that any apostate Muslim is to be put to death.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 105

This “peaceful Islam” that Patriarch Kirill praises is not sustainable. Hieromartyr Daniel observed that watered-down “Euro-Islam” cannot endure:

This type of Islam is, strictly speaking, not Islam at all, but it can be more or less peaceable. Few accept it, however, and many today are deserting it, for a half-faith cannot survive: people either fall into atheism or move up into traditional Islam.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 111

Those who observe “peaceful Muslims” and conclude that Islam itself is peaceful are observing a transitional state. The Muslim who remains lukewarm will either leave Islam entirely or eventually embrace traditional Islam with all its doctrines: jihad, dhimmi status for Christians, death for apostates. There is no stable middle ground. The “peaceful Islam” on which Patriarch Kirill bases his vision of Orthodox-Muslim harmony does not, in the long run, exist.

The fundamental problem is that Patriarch Kirill treats Islam as a “traditional religion” comparable to Christianity. Hieromartyr Daniel explains why this category is itself a mistake:

In this sense Islam can be compared with plans such as national-socialistic and communist efforts, modern globalization, etc., but not with a church, such as Orthodox or Catholic. It is a plan for creating God’s kingdom on this earth, by earthly means, under God’s patronage.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 8

Islam is a totalizing political-social system, unlike Christianity in kind, which is why the “moderate Muslim” cannot remain moderate indefinitely:

A Muslim never separates religion and politics. It is very important to realize this, for this is the defining trait of Islam as such.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 8

Patriarch Kirill’s entire framework of “traditional religions” sharing “values” and “calling people to peace” assumes that Islam is one religion among others, differing in doctrine but similar in kind. This assumption is false. Islam does not permit the separation of faith from political power that would allow permanent peaceful coexistence with a rival truth-claim. The “peaceful coexistence” Kirill celebrates is either the temporary tactic of a minority faith or the unstable half-faith that cannot survive.

2017: Muslims and Christians Appeal to “The Same God the Creator”

On April 16, 2017, during an Easter visit to the Russian Children’s Clinical Hospital in Moscow, Patriarch Kirill said:

Поэтому от всего сердца молитесь, просите у Господа помощи. Я знаю, что здесь есть и христиане, и мусульмане. Каждый обращается к одному и тому же Богу Творцу. И вот в ответ на это мы получаем реальную Божью помощь.

Therefore, pray with all your heart, ask the Lord for help. I know that there are both Christians and Muslims here. Each one appeals to the same God the Creator. And in response to this, we receive real help from God.

— Patriarch Kirill, remarks during Easter visit to the Russian Children’s Clinical Hospital (РДКБ), Moscow, April 16, 2017. Official transcript: https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/54965 (note: this statement omitted from transcript). Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMnOSf-4j2w, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq3Jlxp-cGI&t=640.

These statements were captured on video and cannot be brushed aside. That Orthodox Christians and Muslims appeal to the same God, as established above, is not the teaching of the Orthodox Church.

2019: Baku Summit of World Religious Leaders

On November 14, 2019, Patriarch Kirill attended the 2nd Baku Summit of World Religious Leaders, co-organized by the Caucasus Muslims Board. Kirill addressed delegates from multiple religions:

«Несмотря на объективные различия в вероучении, мы одинаково смотрим на вопросы общественной морали. Наш общий долг и совместная задача — свидетельствовать о нравственных ориентирах в жизни человека».

Despite the objective differences in doctrine, we look at questions of public morality in the same way. Our common duty and joint task is to bear witness to moral guidance in human life.

— Patriarch Kirill, address at 2nd Baku Summit of World Religious Leaders, November 14, 2019. https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/100647

In a subsequent interview, Kirill elaborated:

[Саммит] показала, что люди религиозные, принадлежащие и к разным религиям, и к разным национальностям, умеют находить общий язык. А в основе этого общего языка — общие нравственные ценности, которые разделяют традиционные религии. Поэтому подобного рода встречи, конечно, содействуют улучшению отношений между народами, укреплению мира и развитию межрелигиозных связей.

[The summit] demonstrated that religious people who belong to different religions and nationalities know how to find common ground. At the basis of this common ground lie the fundamental moral values that traditional religions share. Therefore, such meetings certainly contribute to improving relations between peoples, to strengthening peace, and to the advancement of interreligious relations.

— Patriarch Kirill, interview with AzTV, November 14, 2019, https://mospat.ru/ru/news/45917/

Again, Patriarch Kirill professes that Islam is a traditional religion with “fundamental moral values,” the same claim refuted above. At this same summit, he awarded the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov, First Class, to the head of the Caucasus Muslims Board: an Orthodox honor, named after one of Russia’s most beloved saints, given to a Muslim religious leader.

2025: “The One God in Whom Both Orthodox Christians and Muslims Believe”

In July 2025, Patriarch Kirill visited Tatarstan and on two consecutive days preached the same theology: that Orthodox Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

On July 21, preaching after Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Patriarch Kirill stated it three times in a single sermon:

Всякое другое отношение, особенно связанное с конфликтами, проистекает от человеческого греха, от политической конъюнктуры, но оно не может проистекать от единого Бога, в Которого верят и православные христиане, и мусульмане.

Any other attitude, especially one associated with conflicts, originates from human sin, from political expediency, but it cannot originate from the one God, in Whom both Orthodox Christians and Muslims believe.

— Patriarch Kirill, sermon after Liturgy, Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Kazan, July 21, 2025, https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116593

He repeated it moments later, explaining why Muslims are “close to us”:

Во-первых, по вере в Единого Бога, а главное, по очень многим признакам, которые отличают человека верующего от неверующего.

First of all, by faith in the One God, and most importantly, by the many characteristics that distinguish a believing person from a non-believer.

— Patriarch Kirill, same sermon, https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116593

And a third time, in his closing address:

когда обе общины верят в Единого Бога, когда обе общины заботятся о благополучии народа своего и всей России.

when both communities believe in the One God, when both communities care for the well-being of their people and all of Russia.

— Patriarch Kirill, same sermon, https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116593

Three times in one sermon. After Liturgy. In the cathedral. A patriarch teaching from the ambon that Muslims and Orthodox Christians believe in the same God.

The next day, July 22, Kirill went even further, describing Muslim prayer as reaching the God “who saves the human race”:

На этой земле живут и православные, и мусульмане, но все мы обращаем свои молитвы к одному Богу, который спасает род человечества. И когда люди строят храмы или возводят мечети, это означает, что в сердце живет вера.

Both Orthodox Christians and Muslims live on this land. But we all turn our prayers to one God, who saves the human race. And when people build temples or erect mosques, it means that faith lives in the heart.

— Patriarch Kirill, address at foundation stone blessing ceremony for Resurrection Cathedral, Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, July 22, 2025. https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116610. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a23hy_l08V8.

Two things are worthy of note. First, Kirill claims erecting mosques means “faith lives in the heart.”

Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev taught the opposite:

If an Orthodox Christian is asked to donate money to build a mosque and he does so, he becomes an apostate. If he donates money for building a pagan temple he is an idolater. The Orthodox have never built mosques. If a Muslim is sick and hungry he must be cared for and fed, and as a human being he must be shown Christian love and mercy, but showing “mercy” and condescension toward his erroneous beliefs is impermissible.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Explanation of the Apocalypse, p. 187

Patriarch Kirill says building mosques proves “faith lives in the heart.” Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev teaches that funding mosques makes one an apostate.

Second: Kirill states that Muslims pray not only to the same God the Creator, but to the God “who saves the human race.” If Muslims pray to the God who saves, and that prayer is answered, then what need is there for Christ? The Orthodox Church teaches that Christ alone is the way to salvation. Islam denies the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and the Cross. These are not two paths to the same God; they are mutually exclusive confessions about who God is. Kirill’s language erases this distinction entirely.

These are not isolated statements.

2025: Enforced Universalism: Silencing Orthodox Witness to Islam

In that same year, Patriarch Kirill demonstrated that his universalist theology regarding Islam is not a personal opinion, but a position he enforces on those under his authority.

In May 2025, Schema-Abbot Gabriel of Valaam Monastery preached in Moscow that Islam is “the wrong religion.” He was removed from his position, and on June 14, 2025, Patriarch Kirill publicly condemned the Schema-Abbot:^[5]

В то время, когда православные и мусульмане борются вместе с оружием в руках, когда лучшие представители ислама поддерживают Православие… провоцировать православно-исламский конфликт может либо сумасшедший, либо человек со злыми намерениями.

At a time when Orthodox and Muslims are fighting together with weapons in hand, when the best representatives of Islam support Orthodoxy… only a madman or a person with evil intentions can provoke an Orthodox-Islamic conflict.

— Patriarch Kirill, address to clergy of Kaliningrad Metropolia, June 14, 2025. https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116138

He then ordered:

Поэтому гоните прочь всех тех, кто под предлогом «заботы» о русских, о русской культуре, о Православной Церкви призывает встать на борьбу с российскими мусульманами. Это провокация!

Therefore, drive away all those who, under the pretext of “concern” for Russians, for Russian culture, for the Orthodox Church, call for a fight against Russian Muslims. This is a provocation!

— Patriarch Kirill, same address, https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116138

Is it evil to speak truthfully?

“Drive away all those” who express “concern” for Orthodoxy: did not Hieromartyr Sysoev express exactly such concern?

Sysoev taught that “we should never identify the God revealed in Holy Writ with the God worshipped by Muslims” and that “the Allah described by the Quran does not exist.” He rebuked bishops who thought Muslims could be saved.

Side note: Many seek to frame all criticism of Patriarch Kirill as anti-Russian and Russophobic. Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, born and martyred in Moscow, was also accused of being a Russophobe on account of his patristic sentiments. Even pious Russian individuals who go against the lukewarm positions of the masses have this baseless accusation leveled against them. Those with ears to hear, let them hear.

Hieromartyr Daniel taught that to convert to Islam is to betray God and renounce the faith:

Unfortunately, there always have been and always will be betrayers at the table of God. Incidentally, we are never surprised when this or that priest renounces the faith and converts to Islam…

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Women in the Church: Submission or Equality?, p. 51

Schema-Abbot Gabriel preached what the saints teach: Islam is the wrong religion. There is one God, the Holy Trinity. Islam denies the Trinity and therefore worships a god that is not the Holy Trinity, which definitionally is a false god. What Schema-Abbot Gabriel said is in line with the traditional Orthodox teaching.

Patriarch Kirill’s response, in either ignorance or defiance of the Church’s dogma, is to drive the priest away. Not because the theology is wrong, but because “Muslims are fighting together with Orthodox in the war.”

The priorities of Patriarch Kirill are visible: Orthodoxy and her tenets are less important to him than fighting and winning a war.

Сколько мусульман сейчас погибает, защищая Родину!

How many Muslims are now dying, defending the Motherland!

— Patriarch Kirill, address to clergy of Kaliningrad Metropolia, June 14, 2025. https://www.patriarchia.ru/article/116138

This is the same Patriarch who teaches that soldiers dying in this war have their sins washed away (see Chapter 16). Now he praises Muslims dying in the same war, “defending the Motherland.”

The question Kirill’s defenders must answer: what does Patriarch Kirill teach happens to these Muslims who die fighting this war? Are their sins washed away despite having denied Christ, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion? (This will be fully examined further in Chapter 16 and Chapter 17.)

The Orthodox priority, as Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev’s entire ministry demonstrated, is to convert Muslims so that they leave this life in communion with Christ. Patriarch Kirill’s framework removes the need to do so, content with seeking good temporal relations with Muslims so that they fight our so-called holy wars for us.

Wouldn’t it be better to convert the Muslims dying in this war so that they leave this life having known Christ, than to save the lives of Orthodox Christians who have already been baptized and thus have great hope in their salvation? Or do we perceive the Muslims as simply cattle, to fight and die in our so-called holy war, as Kirill calls it (see Chapter 17)? Shouldn’t our priority be to follow in the ministry of Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev and convert them?

Hieromartyr Daniel articulated the true Orthodox position:

Therefore, having confidence in this salvation, we shall pray the Lord to destroy the Islamic system that bars people from going over, for those who convert from Islam in Islamic lands today are immediately killed. And let us not only pray, but also preach Christ among the Muslims, to make them our brothers.

— Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev, Islam: An Orthodox Perspective, p. 59

This is the Orthodox approach: love for the Muslim person, combined with clarity that they must be brought to Christ through preaching Orthodoxy, not the pretense that we already worship the same God, which removes any urgency to preach the Gospel to them.

Where do we see Patriarch Kirill preaching the Gospel to Muslims? Or is his priority to seek friends and allies?

Let it be stated emphatically: Schema-Abbot Gabriel was not chastised because his theology was wrong. He was chastised because it conflicted with Patriarch Kirill’s military necessity. This is state religion enforcing political theology by silencing Orthodox witness. This has nothing to do with the tenets of Orthodoxy.

When political alliances determine what can be preached about Christ, the Church has become the servant of Caesar. Those who twist the Church to serve Caesar disobey the commandment of Jesus Christ Himself:

Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.

— Matthew 22:21^[6]

C. The Inescapable Question

St. John of Damascus identified Islam as a heresy and forerunner of Antichrist. St. Cyprian taught that outside the Church there is no salvation. Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev taught that Muslims and Orthodox do not worship the same God and was martyred for preaching Christ to them.

Patriarch Kirill teaches that Muslims and Christians pray to the same God “who saves the human race.”

On what basis can this be excused?

If Muslims and Christians “appeal to the same God,” then rejecting Christ’s divinity does not change the identity of the God worshipped. If building mosques proves “faith lives in the heart,” then Islamic faith and Orthodox faith are equivalent. If Orthodox priests who preach exclusive salvation must be “driven away,” then Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev himself stands condemned.

Objection: St. John of Damascus on Monotheism

Some will note that St. John of Damascus himself acknowledged that Muhammad “rightly says that there exists one God maker of all.” This is a false equivalence. All St. John is saying is that Muhammad got one fact right: monotheism is correct. There is only one God. But correctly believing that only one God exists does not mean one worships that God. Scripture teaches that the gods of the nations are demons (Psalm 95:5 LXX), that men make gods of their passions and appetites (Philippians 3:19), and that even a “mental idol,” as Hieromartyr Daniel Sysoev calls Allah, is not the true God simply because its adherents claim there is only one. St. John of Damascus classified Islam as a heresy and a forerunner of the Antichrist in the very same chapter. He was not granting that Muslims worship the same God; he was noting that they stumbled onto one correct premise while denying everything that follows from it: the Trinity, the Sonship, and the Cross.

What makes this worse is that Kirill himself knows the danger Islam poses to Orthodoxy. He has warned that “we are at mortal risk of replacing the crosses in our churches with the Islamic crescent, as was once the case with St. Sophia in Constantinople.” He has noted that Islamic radicals “killed six Orthodox priests, including Moscow priest Daniil Sysoyev, in the past 15 years.” He has framed Orthodox-Muslim closeness as primarily about shared moral conservatism against Western liberalism. Yet when speaking to mixed audiences in Tatarstan or to sick children in a Moscow hospital, the same Patriarch switches diplomatic tactics and then teaches that Muslims and Christians pray to “the same God the Creator” and to the God “who saves the human race.” The inconsistency is not between Kirill and the saints alone. It is within Kirill himself. He speaks differently depending on the audience, which removes any defense of theological naivety. He absolutely knows better. He chooses to speak otherwise when it is politically useful.

In June 2011, speaking to the European Council of Religious Leaders, Kirill explicitly acknowledged and dismissed the anti-ecumenical position within his own Church:

«На эту реальность можно реагировать радикально — отказаться от диалога, отказаться от всяких попыток влиять на окружающий нас мир и уйти в самих себя. Именно это мироощущение лежит в основе очень сильного антиэкуменического движения внутри нашей Русской Церкви.»

One can react to this reality radically: refuse dialogue, refuse any attempts to influence the world around us, and withdraw into oneself. It is precisely this worldview that underlies the very strong anti-ecumenical movement within our Russian Church.

— Patriarch Kirill, meeting with European Council of Religious Leaders, June 21, 2011. http://www.patriarchia.ru/article/31793

Thus, Kirill knows that there is a “very strong anti-ecumenical movement” in his Church. He does not engage with their theological arguments. He simply dismisses them as choosing “radical withdrawal.” This is not ignorance. This is awareness combined with deliberate rejection.

Kirill’s statements cannot be reconciled with the patristic witness. Either the saints are wrong, or Kirill is.

D. On Hypocrisy

Even outside Orthodoxy, this hypocrisy is visible. Michael Lofton, a Roman Catholic commentator (cited here as corroborative, not authoritative), observed:

…I’m going to show you, none other Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, saying that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. So if you’re an Orthodox viewer right now and you want to say “Catholicism is just woke, it’s just liberal, […], it’s heterodox”, because of this particular point, come on to Orthodoxy you say, my point is…you know what, drop this really bad argument. It’s hypocritical, it’s bad. If you want to criticize this, you need to criticize it on both ends. You just need to be consistent. That’s all I’m asking for.

— Michael Lofton, Orthodoxy Going Woke? New Interfaith Center in Moscow, https://www.youtube.com/live/thM0o9Fx-Kc

Many Orthodox Christians spend much time examining the heresy of the heterodox and other jurisdictions yet hesitate to examine error within the Church and among their own leaders. They focus on the errors of others, then deem all criticism toward themselves to be unfair, discriminatory, and “judgmental.”

This is precisely the hypocrisy Christ warned against. Notice what Jesus says to His disciples:

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

— Luke 12:1^[7]

He is telling His own disciples to beware of becoming hypocrites, not warning them about other hypocrites. St. Cyril of Alexandria, commenting on this passage, emphasizes that Christ commands us to examine hypocrisy in ourselves:

He began to say unto His disciples first of all, “Beware in yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” … And therefore it was that Christ told His friends, that is, His disciples, to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and scribes,” meaning by leaven their false pretence. For hypocrisy is a thing hateful to God, and abominated by man, bringing no reward, and utterly useless for the salvation of the soul, or rather the cause of its perdition.

— St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke, Sermon 86, trans. R. Payne Smith (1859), https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cyril_on_luke_08_sermons_81_88.htm

“Beware in yourselves.” The command is to guard against the very hypocrisy we see in the Pharisees, not to examine others while excusing ourselves. St. Cyril identifies the essence of this leaven: false pretence, “utterly useless for the salvation of the soul, or rather the cause of its perdition.”

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov explains the connection between hypocrisy and false teaching:

“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” said the Lord. One of the evangelists explains that, by the words “leaven of the Pharisees,” the Lord meant the teaching of the Pharisees (Matthew), which another understood it to mean their hypocrisy (Luke). These are one and the same—from their hypocrisy comes their way of thinking and their teaching.

[…]

The Lord told His disciples to be direct in their behavior, sincere, and founded on holy wisdom, not justified by evil. Their behavior must shine with pure virtue and heavenly beauty in order to attract the eyes and hearts of all men.

— St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, The Field, p. 84

Christ’s warning is for His own disciples, not for those outside. The heterodox can see when hypocrisy is present among Orthodox Christians, and this becomes a stumbling block in their conversion to the Orthodox faith.

E. Conclusion

From 2011 to 2025, Patriarch Kirill has taught that Islam shares divine revelation with Christianity. The pattern is consistent:

• 2011: Islam shares “Divine Revelation” with Christianity
• 2012: “Common system of values”; four religions toward “one goal”
• 2015: Celebrated mosque construction; called Muslims “brothers”
• 2017: Muslims and Christians pray to “the same God the Creator”
• 2025: “The one God in Whom both Orthodox Christians and Muslims believe” (three times in one sermon, after Liturgy)
• 2025: Muslims and Christians pray to God “who saves the human race”
• 2025: Building mosques means “faith lives in the heart”
• 2025: Orthodox priests who say Islam is the wrong religion must be “driven away”

The Orthodox Church teaches that Christ alone is the way to salvation. Islam denies the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, and the Cross. These are not two paths to the same God. Patriarch Kirill’s language erases this distinction entirely.

1. Original Greek: “Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν κρατοῦσα λαοπλανὴς θρησκεία τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν πρόδρομος οὖσα τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου. […] ψευδοπροφήτης αὐτοῖς ἀνεφύη Μάμεδ ἐπονομαζόμενος, ὃς τῇ τε παλαιᾷ καὶ νέᾳ διαθήκῃ περιτυχών, ὁμοίως ἀρειανῷ προσομιλήσας δῆθεν μοναχῷ ἰδίαν συνεστήσατο αἵρεσιν.” ↩

2. Original Greek: “«Θεὸν μὲν ὁμολογοῦσιν, εἶναι ὅμως παντάπασιν ἄθεοι, καθὼς ἦσαν καὶ τὸ πρότερον· ἐπειδὴ δὲν γνωρίζουν τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεόν, μήτε ὁμολογοῦσι τὸν ἄναρχον Πατέρα τοῦ ζῶντος Λόγου, τὸν ἀγέννητον, τὸν πανταίτιον, τὸν ἀεὶ ὄντα, τὸν Γεννήτορα τῆς ζώσης σοφίας, τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, καὶ ἀσωμάτου Υἱοῦ, τὸν προβολέα τῆς ἀληθινῆς ζωῆς, τοῦ ζωοποιοῦντος καὶ ἁγιάζοντος τὰ πάντα ἀγαθοῦ, καὶ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος. Ἀθετοῦν οἱ παράφρονες τὸν ἀσώματον Υἱόν, καὶ Λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεῖον, καὶ ζωοποιόν Πνεῦμα.»” Note: the word “Heathens” (Ἐθνικοί) in the English translation is an explanatory insertion by the translator; St. Symeon uses the term earlier in the chapter but the Greek at this position reads simply “they profess” (ὁμολογοῦσιν) without repeating the subject. ↩

3. Original Greek: “Μὴ γίνεσθε ἑτεροζυγοῦντες ἀπίστοις· τίς γὰρ μετοχὴ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀνομίᾳ; τίς δὲ κοινωνία φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος; τίς δὲ συμφώνησις Χριστῷ πρὸς Βελίαλ; ἢ τίς μερὶς πιστῷ μετὰ ἀπίστου; τίς δὲ συγκατάθεσις ναῷ Θεοῦ μετὰ εἰδώλων; ὑμεῖς γὰρ ναὸς Θεοῦ ἐστε ζῶντος, καθὼς εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς ὅτι ἐνοικήσω ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω, καὶ ἔσομαι αὐτῶν Θεός, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι λαός.” ↩

4. Original Greek: “«Αὐτή (ἠ Ἐκκλησία) εἶνε ἡ θύρα τῆς ζωῆς, ἐνώ ὅλοι οἱ ἄλλοι εἶνε κλέπτες καί λῃσταί. Γι’ αὐτόν τό λόγο πρέπει ὁπωσδήποτε νά τούς ἀποφεύγωμε…Γιά τούς ἀπίστους, ὅμως, καί τούς τυφλούς αὐτοῦ τοῦ αἰῶνος θά ἀκούσωμε ὅτι δέν θά κληρονομήσουν τό μέλλοντα αἰῶνα τῆς ζωῆς.»” ↩

5. “Patriarch Kirill reproached Schema-Abbot Gabriel for attempting to provoke an ‘Orthodox-Islamic conflict,’” Religiyna Pravda, June 17, 2025. Apti Alaudinov’s statements (“imbecile in a cassock,” “representative of the troops of the Antichrist”) reported in same coverage. ↩

6. Original Greek: “ἀπόδοτε οὖν τὰ Καίσαρος Καίσαρι καὶ τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Θεῷ.” ↩

7. Original Greek: “προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ζύμης τῶν Φαρισαίων, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὑπόκρισις.” ↩