January 21, 2026

To Avoid Infanticide


To Avoid Infanticide
A place for prayer, reflection, and activism. Anton Unitsyn / @unitsyn

In recent years, Christmas Day in Russia (celebrated on January 7) has been accompanied by official speeches about so-called Russian spiritual and moral values and the traditional family. But this year, for the first time, Christmas services were followed by anti-abortion services, which took place a few days later.

“Any murder is terrible, but when they kill babies, it is especially terrible,” said Novosibirsk and Berdsk Metropolitan Nikodim during the liturgy, “but it should be even more terrible for us
when they kill those who have not even been born yet. This is the murder of our future, the future of our country and of every family."

According to state-run newspaper Kommersant, this year a similar prayer service was held in at least 15 regions, from southern Russia to the Far East.

The Moscow Diocese reported that, going forward, abortion-related prayer services will be held in all Russian Orthodox churches on January 11, a date in the church calendar that coincides with the Massacre of the Innocents.

But the news reports did not reveal anything about public opinion on the change. Yet one article was unexpectedly supplemented by a rather harsh video about domestic violence: "What's going on with the rights of women in Russia?" Which raises questions and made it seem as if the journalist or editor responsible for the article made a bold gesture to show their true opinion on the matter.

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