Holy Rus (russian: Свята́я Русь, '' Svyataya

Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...

'') is a

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

organisation in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, headed by Ivan Otrakovsky. The organisation established an Orthodox Christian patrol squad in August 2012 in order to protect Christian churches from

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...

vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

s, informing the police or stopping the criminal if necessary. In addition, the squads also deal with individuals who

sneer A sneer is a facial expression of scorn or disgust characterized by a slight raising of one corner of the upper lip, known also as curling the lip or turning up the nose. In ''The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals'', Charles Darwin defin ...

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in p ...

. The leader of the group, Ivan Otrakovsky, stated that: Holy Rus stated that its patrol squads will also target individuals insulting God or displaying

sacrilegious Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

symbols, such as an

inverted cross The Cross of Saint Peter or Petrine Cross is an inverted Latin cross traditionally used as a Christian symbol, but in recent times also used as an anti-Christian and Satanic symbol. In Christianity, it is associated with the martyrdom of Pete ...

. There are currently seven volunteer squads operating in Russia and the number is expected to grow. "Blasphemy, heresy, defilement and lechery" are offences that Holy Rus will aim to curb.

References

{{reflist Religious organizations based in Russia Neighborhood watch organizations Christianity and society Eastern Orthodoxy and far-right politics Far-right politics in Russia Russian Orthodox Church in Russia Blasphemy