Patriarch Kirill spoke with Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) via a video link

Scientific knowledge should go hand-in-hand with religious faith for humankind to avoid a potential catastrophe, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has said while speaking to the Russian cosmonauts working at the International Space Station (ISS).

The Patriarch delivered his address to the cosmonauts via video link on Sunday as Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter. This year, one of the most revered Orthodox holidays coincides with Cosmonautics Day, which marks the anniversary of the first crewed space flight made by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.

Speaking to the cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergey Mikayev, and Andrey Fedyaev, the Patriarch spoke about the importance of maintaining a balance between scientific and technical advances and religious faith, arguing the latter is key to keeping the potentially dangerous progress at bay.

"To prevent scientific and technological progress from leading humanity to catastrophe - and this could happen, and everyone understands how advances in science could be used to destroy humankind - to prevent this from ever happening, scientific knowledge, in my view, must be combined with faith in God," Kirill stated.

"This is possible, since faith in God strengthens a person's understanding of their own limitations. This is crucial - the recognition of what you can do and what you cannot. And another important point: faith in God affirms the need to strengthen and develop a moral sense within a person," he added. "Where there is a moral sense, there is conscience. And without conscience, a person cannot live. And the planet will not be able to live - everything will simply be destroyed."

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(RT.com)