BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Smartphone users warned to be careful of the Antichrist

  • Published
    8 January 2019
Share page
About sharing
Patriarch KirillImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Patriarch Kirill conducting a Christmas liturgy

Anastasia Clark and Chris Bell
BBC Monitoring and BBC News

People's dependence on smartphones and modern technology could bring about the coming of the Antichrist, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church has warned.

Russian social media users largely responded with humour and scepticism, while some accused the Church of "serving the regime", external.

Speaking to Russian state TV, Patriarch Kirill said smartphone users should be careful when using the "worldwide web of gadgets" because it represented "an opportunity to gain global control over mankind".

"The Antichrist is the person who will be at the head of the worldwide web, controlling all of humankind," he said.

Presentational grey line

You might also be interested in:

  • NBA star: 'I don't feel safe in the UK'

  • Japan billionaire has most retweeted tweet

  • India scientists dismiss Einstein theories

Presentational grey line

"Every time you use your gadget, whether you like it or not, whether you turn on your location or not, somebody can find out exactly where you are, exactly what your interests are and exactly what you are scared of," Patriarch Kirill told Rossiya 1.

"If not today, then tomorrow methods and technology could appear that will not just provide access to all information but will also allow the use of this information.

"Do you imagine what power will be concentrated in the hands of those who gain knowledge about what is going on in the world?

"Such control from one place forebodes the coming of the Antichrist."

Patriarch Kirill said his Church was not against "technological progress", rather "the development of a system that is aimed at controlling a person's identity". But not all social media users were convinced.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by СмутноеВремя

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by СмутноеВремя

"The Church is not against science and technological progress, but is concerned about the freedom of the individual. Yeah, sure," joked one Twitter user.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Michael Avrinsky

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Michael Avrinsky

"Smile, the Antichrist is about to fly out," tweeted another, along with an image of a woman taking a selfie with Patriarch Kirill and other church representatives.

Patriarch Kirill is close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who participates in big Church celebrations and has gone on pilgrimages to Mount Athos and other famous Orthodox sites. Many Russian Orthodox priests closely identify with President Putin's nationalist agenda.

At a time when internet freedoms are increasingly restricted in Russia - and authorities are reportedly attempting to create an independent Russian internet, external - this closeness led some to accuse Patriarch Kirill of lending government policy divine authority.

"They ban international internet in Russia so that the Antichrist doesn't come out of it," one social media user remarked, external.

On Saturday, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine split from the Russian Church following centuries of Russian leadership, formalising a decision announced in October.

The move sparked a furious response in Moscow and deepened a split in the world wide Orthodox Church.

More on this story

  • Ukraine Orthodox Church wins independence

    • Published
      5 January 2019
    Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Metropolitan Epifaniy, head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, attend a signing ceremony marking the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church's independence, at St. George's cathedral, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in Istanbul, Turkey on 5 January 2019
  • Five reasons why Orthodox Church split matters

    • Published
      17 October 2018
    Ukrainian worshippers in Makiivka, Donetsk region, 8 Apr 18

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Vance and Lammy to host meeting on Ukraine, as Zelensky says Kyiv will not give up land

    • 9037 viewing9k viewing
  • Police make arrests at Palestine Action ban protests

    • Published
      Just now
  • Israel rejects international criticism of Gaza City takeover plan

    • Published
      16 hours ago

More to explore

  • Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

    Prince Andrew, head and shoulders, April 2025
  • 'People are angry': Behind the wave of asylum hotel protests

    A man holds a flare during a protest outside The Bell Hotel on July 31, 2025 in Epping, England.
  • Navigating hook-up culture: 'On Grindr you're an object, like picking clothes online'

    Lewis looking at camera
  • Faith, family and fishing - the unlikely bond between JD Vance and David Lammy

    Foreign Secretary David Lammy fishing with US vice president JD Vance at Chevening House in Kent. Both men are wearing blue shirts, JD Vance is in jeans and Lammy is in beige chinos.
  • Beloved by bands and bank robbers, the Ford Transit turns 60

    BBC business correspondent Theo Leggett sits with one hand on the wheel of a stationary yellow Ford Transit - the oldest one still in existence, which was built in 1965. On its side are the words GEC-Elliott Traffic Automation Ltd. He is smiling wearing a cap and a blue shirt and jacket and light grey trousers.
  • 'An escape from feeling lonely': The Seoul 'convenience stores' fighting isolation

    A lively and colorful pedestrian street in Seoul, filled with vibrant crosswalk designs, unique shops, and bustling activity. A woman stands in the middle of a zebra crossing in a winter jacket carrying the sign 'escape room, half price'
  • I made an AI clone of my dead son - and let a journalist interview him

    Image showing Joaquin Oliver in a beenie hat will the sea and sun behind him, with a blue border and the BBC Verify logo in the top left corner
  • Nasa Apollo missions: Stories of the last Moon men

    Harrison Schmitt is photographed next to the United States flag on the lunar surface during the Apollo 17 mission. The highest part of the flag appears to point toward our planet Earth in the distant background. Its red and white stripes are also reflected in the visor of Schmitt's helmet.
  • Summer Essential: Your family’s guide to the summer, delivered to your inbox every Tuesday

    concentric circles ranging from orange to yellow to represent the sun, with a blue sky background
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Prince Andrew book seals his fate for any return

  2. 2

    'People are angry': Behind the wave of asylum hotel protests

  3. 3

    Elon Musk's AI accused of making explicit AI Taylor Swift videos

  4. 4

    Faith, family and fishing - the unlikely bond between JD Vance and David Lammy

  5. 5

    'Are we not working class enough?' Students divided on civil service internship reform

  6. 6

    Is super skinny back? UK sees rise in complaints over thin models in adverts

  7. 7

    Oasis call council a 'bunch of snakes' over fan comments

  8. 8

    Funeral appeal for boy hit by bus reaches £6,500

  9. 9

    Israel rejects international criticism of Gaza City takeover plan

  10. 10

    Jim Lovell, Apollo 13 astronaut, dies aged 97

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Your latest reality TV obsession has landed on iPlayer

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Destination X
  • Jacob Elordi stars in explosive war drama

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Narrow Road to the Deep North
  • Inside the front-line fight against cybercriminals

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Fighting Cyber Criminals
  • A rare glimpse into the world of rope access

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Our Lives: High Stakes
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.