Patriarch Kirill said that the clergy should perceive their presence on the Internet as a pastoral ministry

But not as a place where they “sign their intellectual abilities and collect likes.”

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church held a meeting with priests who carry out missionary activities on the Internet, during which he emphasized that presence on the Web requires deep immersion, if we talk about professional participation, and “a priest cannot participate otherwise”:

– If the priest will only express some of his dreams, fantasies and conjectures on the Internet, then it is better not to go there. A soteriological (theological doctrine of human salvation) measurement of your online presence is absolutely essential.

The patriarch remarked that if a clergyman separates his presence on the Web from the teaching about the salvation of man, then he is “ringing brass and rattling cymbals,” and then it would be better for him to leave from there:

– Or, take off the cross and say: “I’m retiring, I devote myself completely to this element.” This, of course, is a sin for someone who does this, but on the other hand, it is at least honest.