In February 2012, the punk band Pussy Riot held an unauthorized prayer service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Five girls, putting on masks, performed their rite at the altar until they were driven out by the running guards.
Following this, a video of the event appeared on the Internet, in which the movements of the girls were accompanied by the song "Theotokos, drive Putin away." What happened further split the society. A criminal case was opened against the members of the group under the article "hooliganism". Three of them were arrested, and the investigation extended the terms of detention for a long time.
Letters signed by human rights activists, cultural figures, etc. began to arrive at the address of law enforcement agencies and the church. with a request to soften their position in relation to the participants of the action. The appeals, in particular, said that such a lengthy detention was inadequate to the misdemeanor. The church was accused of not wanting to forgive the participants of the political, in the opinion of many, actions in a Christian way.
The Church insists that there was no political action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. At the altar, the Pussy Riot group did not perform the song "Mother of God, Drive Putin away" - the video appeared on the Internet after the corresponding editing. In the church, the girls shouted the phrase "S … n the Lord!", And this offends the feelings of believers. Accordingly, it is up to believers to decide whether their feelings are offended or not, to forgive or not to forgive.
In addition, the ROC points to the fact that human rights activists present the punk prayer as an action against Putin and the merger of the church with the state and at the same time call on the clergy to intervene in the investigation, that is, in the work of state bodies, and this is illogical.
But the most important thing, in the opinion of the church, is that the participants of the action committed a hooligan act not for religious or political reasons, but with the aim of earning on this business, albeit a bad one, but fame. The hype around the event showed that the girls succeeded, so they are unlikely to realize the full depth of their deed. Accordingly, they do not repent of anything, and the church forgives those who repent.
