The Chapel of Russia's Resurrection is a sect from Russia that views President and ex-Prime Minister

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

as the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

of Paul the Apostle.

History

The sect was founded in 2007 by a person known as Mother Fotina, whose real name is thought to be Svetlana Frolova; she is also thought to have been a former convict who had been a railroad worker. It is a schism away from the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

. The sect lives in an sanctuary located in Bolshaya Yelnia, near the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...

and

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

, established by Mother Fotina.

Beliefs

The sect believes that

Russian Prime Minister The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 f ...

and now

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin is the reincarnation of Paul the Apostle, sent to Russia to prepare its people for the Second Coming of Christ; Putin is also thought to have joined with seven other reborn apostles to fight the

antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form)1 John ; . 2 John . ...

s. Mother Fotina notes the similarities between Paul and Putin's careers, including being an early "persecutor of Christians" before becoming imbued with the Holy Spirit; the group believes that Putin received the Holy Spirit after becoming president. Putin is also said to be a reincarnation of

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

. Putin is the first Russian leader to be religiously worshiped while still alive.

Devotions

The group, consisting entirely of women, dress as nuns when giving services to pray for Putin in a three-story brick building called the Chapel of Russia's Resurrection. They have put a picture of him, said to have appeared miraculously one day, together with traditional Russian Orthodox figures. At the services, they also sing patriotic Russian songs, as well as the children's song "

May There Always Be Sunshine "May There Always Be Sunshine" (russian: "Пусть всегда будет солнце!" or ) is a popular Soviet children's song created in 1962. The music was composed by Arkady Ostrovsky and the lyrics written by Lev Oshanin. Korney Chukovsk ...

Reactions

The Russian government is aware of the sect, and Putin's press agent

Dmitry Peskov Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov ( rus, Дмитрий Сергеевич Песков, p=pʲɪˈskof; born 17 October 1967) is a Russian diplomat and the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin.he sectthink so highly of utin'swork." Although he notes that the group has not broken any laws, he reminds them that one of the commandments in the Bible is that " thou shalt not worship false idols". The sect has arisen amid a

personality cult A cult of personality, or a cult of the leader, Mudde, Cas and Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira (2017) ''Populism: A Very Short Introduction''. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 63. is the result of an effort which is made to create an id ...

centered on Putin, which includes popular songs, and nightclub parties. Father Alexei, a local Russian Orthodox priest, has denounced the sect as a mix of "Orthodoxy, Catholicism, the occult, Buddhism and political information." A neighbour of Mother Fotina's has opined that the sect was started to keep the Federal Security Service from investigating its founder.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * {{Vladimir Putin Vladimir Putin Christian new religious movements Eastern Orthodoxy in Russia 2007 establishments in Russia Paul the Apostle New religious movements in Russia

History

Beliefs

Devotions

Reactions

See also

References