Patriarch Kirill: 'We are at risk of replacing crosses in churches with Islamic crescent'

Migrants in Russia should obtain passports, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, said in a statement addressed to the Orthodox clergy and believers regarding the upcoming presidential election, Report reports, with reference to the Russian media.

Patriarch Kirill stressed that everyone who accepts Russian citizenship should be given the sign of the cross, and they should defend their new homeland.

He pointed out that Russia is facing the danger of turning from an Orthodox state into an Islamic caliphate for the first time in its centuries-old history: "We are at mortal risk of replacing the crosses in our churches with the Islamic crescent for the first time, as was once the case with St. Sophia in Constantinople."

According to Patriarch Kirill, more efforts should be made for the assimilation of migrants: "We should make them be close to us in terms of faith and outlook. Otherwise, their culture may prevail. As a result, the Orthodox faith will be in danger, and the holy churches will turn into mosques again. Uncontrolled migration and gradual Islamization are disastrous conditions for multinational Russia and its Orthodox core.