--- description: The head of Russia’s Orthodox church has likened allowing marriage equality to life in Nazi Germany title: Russian Bishop Likens Gay Marriage Laws to Nazi Germany image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9686f333f1fc85e/6988cf518e06018cd646a95a/gettyimages-689620658.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [russia](/tag/russia/) ## russia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Russia's Highest Religious Authority Just Compared Gay Marriage to Nazi Germany by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2017 9:32 AM CUT  Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill conducts a service at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on May 28, 2017. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill conducts a service at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on May 28, 2017.Vyacheslav Oseledko—AFP/Getty Images by [Feliz Solomon](/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 30, 2017 9:32 AM CUT The head of Russia’s Orthodox church has [likened marriage equality to Nazism](https://themoscowtimes.com/news/head-of-orthodox-church-compares-homosexual-marriage-to-nazism-58108 "undefined"), the latest in a spate of controversies from the country’s highest religious authority. The _Moscow_ _Times_ reports that Patriarch Kirill made the comments during a visit to Kyrgyzstan where he was promoting a new translation of a book he authored. Citing Russian-language media, the _Times_ reports that Kirill referred to “so-called homosexual marriages” as a threat to family values. “When laws are detached from morality they cease being laws people can accept,” he was quoted as saying, comparing such laws to those enacted in Nazi Germany. According to the _Times,_ the Patriarch has made similar comparisons between marriage equality and authoritarianism in the past; Kirill said in a [2016 interview with Russia Today](https://www.rt.com/news/367599-patriarch-kirill-rt-interview/ "undefined") that homosexual unions were a form of “Soviet totalitarianism” that threaten humanity. \[[_Moscow Times_](https://themoscowtimes.com/news/head-of-orthodox-church-compares-homosexual-marriage-to-nazism-58108 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4797521/russia-orthodox-gay-marriage-nazi-germany/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4797521/russia-orthodox-gay-marriage-nazi-germany/"},"headline":"Russia's Highest Religious Authority Just Compared Gay Marriage to Nazi Germany","datePublished":"2017-05-30T09:32:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:09:28.475Z","description":"The Patriarch has made similar comparisons between marriage equality and authoritarianism in the past","url":"https://time.com/4797521/russia-orthodox-gay-marriage-nazi-germany/","keywords":["russia","Marriage Equality","LGBT","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9686f333f1fc85e/6988cf518e06018cd646a95a/gettyimages-689620658.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Feliz Solomon","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9686f333f1fc85e/6988cf518e06018cd646a95a/gettyimages-689620658.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"KYRGYZSTAN-RUSSIA-RELIGION","caption":"KYRGYZSTAN-RUSSIA-RELIGION","creditText":"Vyacheslav Oseledko—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/russia/","name":"russia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4797521/russia-orthodox-gay-marriage-nazi-germany/","name":"Russia's Highest Religious Authority Just Compared Gay Marriage to Nazi Germany"}}]}] ```