A Toronto priest is going through criticism for accepting a medal from Vladimir Putin final week because the Russian president is waging a struggle on Ukraine that has killed 1000’s of civilians.
At a ceremony on the Kremlin on Nov. 4, Putin introduced the Order of Friendship to Father Vladimir Malchenko, head priest at Toronto’s Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church.
A video of the occasion obtained by World Information reveals Malchenko striding onto a stage to greet Putin, who shakes the priest’s hand and pins the Russian state honour onto his frock.
Putin counseled Malchenko for serving to Canadian “parishioners keep their reference to their historic homeland.” Malchenko’s acceptance speech lauded the “Fatherland.”
The awards ceremony occurred on Russia’s Nationwide Unity Day. In his remarks praising Malchenko, Putin additionally celebrated Russian troops he mentioned have been “bravely” combating in Ukraine.
Reached by telephone this week, Malchenko mentioned he had no regrets about being honoured by Putin, who’s needed by the Worldwide Legal Court docket for struggle crimes for the kidnapping of Ukrainian kids.
“I don’t take a look at it as a political act. It’s an act of recognition of our pastoral duties right here in Canada,” Malchenko instructed World Information after returning to Toronto from Moscow.
“And our neighborhood may be very grateful that there’s been a certain quantity of recognition of our work right here to consolation folks’s lives in Canada,” mentioned Malchenko.
However the Ukrainian Canadian Congress mentioned it was “disgraceful” that the Canadian priest had accepted a medal from the Russian chief as he continues to assault his neighbours.
Two days earlier than Malchenko exchanged pleasantries with Putin, Russia bombed a college in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia area that was used as a humanitarian hub, killing greater than 50 folks.
“It is a textbook case of ethical hypocrisy unbecoming of a person who purports to advertise Christian educating,” mentioned Danylo Korbabicz, CEO of the Canadian Ukrainian group.
Rescuers search web site of Russian assault on college used as humanitarian hub in Zaporizhzhia area, Ukraine, on Nov. 2, 2026. Photograph by Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COM.
The Order of Friendship is awarded for “excellent contributions to strengthening friendship” and “fostering peace and pleasant relations amongst nations.”
Previous recipients embody pro-Russia actor Steven Seagal and former prime minister Jean Chretien, however that was earlier than Putin despatched his troops into Ukraine in 2014.
Following Russia’s 2022 assault on Kyiv, Canada positioned Putin on its Russia sanctions record, citing his “grave breach of worldwide peace and safety.”
Additionally sanction was Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox church and a cheerleader of Putin’s assault on Ukraine, which he has deemed a “holy struggle.”
In his feedback to World Information, Malchenko mentioned his Toronto church was “above politics,” didn’t help any wars and was “vastly” involved in regards to the human struggling attributable to armed conflicts.
However he mentioned he didn’t elevate the struggle in Ukraine with Putin on the medal ceremony. “No, it actually wasn’t time for a dialog,” he defined.
He characterised his award as recognition for “fulfilling our Christian duties in Canada,” and mentioned the church was apolitical. “We by no means discuss in regards to the struggle,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, the church’s web site hyperlinks to Russian on-line platforms that parrot the declare that Ukraine is an “imaginary nation” and Ukrainians are “imaginary” folks.
The hyperlinks, which additionally declare there may be “no such factor” as Ukraine, are in keeping with Russian propaganda that goals to justify Putin’s army marketing campaign.
Malchenko’s church is a registered charity that receives authorities tax breaks. In 2012, the Conservative authorities awarded him the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
In his temporary acceptance speech, Malchenko mentioned that Russians lived “in all cities, in all nations of this world. However now we have one Fatherland. Russia, Holy Rus.”
“And should the Lord God bless our beloved Fatherland. Could He bless it with prosperity and well-being ceaselessly.”
Putin’s speech harkened again to previous wars that he mentioned “drove invaders” out of what he referred to as Russia’s “native lands.”
“At this time our fighters are simply as bravely defending Russia’s pursuits and our statehood as a part of the particular army operation,” he mentioned, utilizing his time period for the Ukraine struggle.
Malchenko’s go to to the Kremlin got here at a time of among the worst atrocities of Putin’s try to make use of his army may to show Ukraine right into a vassal of Moscow.
The evening earlier than Russia’s lethal assault on a college in Zaporizhzhia, a hospital advanced was struck, injuring at the very least 73, whereas the bombing of a hospice in Dnipro pressured the evacuation of dozens of terminally ailing and aged sufferers.
On Wednesday, Canada joined its G7 allies in condemning Putin’s assaults on “residential buildings, civilian infrastructure, and cultural heritage.”
World Affairs Canada didn’t reply to requests for remark in regards to the matter.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
