When the Russian Church celebrated the memory of All Saints of the Russian land, on June 26, Patriarch Kirill consecrated the newly-built Cathedral of St. Andrew in the city of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea. Addressing the faithful, the Patriarch made a remark concerning Christian churches being built and, conversely, demolished or disposed of:

- Where does the Body of Christ appear in the Sacrament of the Eucharist? - In the church of God... Beautiful, magnificent churches are being built, a visible sign of the Christian faith, the faith that has survived to this day in spite of all the twists and turns of history, in spite of all the persecutions.

And how marvelous is today's celebrating the Eucharist in this new church, which is first of all a testimony to the faith of all of you, but especially of those who took the initiative to build it, who contributed their material resources, who supported in every way possible, so that the church could be built in time to reveal its otherworldly beauty to us all.

If you tell somewhere in the so-called “enlightened West” that we are building churches in Russia, they won't believe you. Today Christian churches there, in the enlightened West, are being closed or converted. Converted into mosques, because Muslim communities keep the faith and they need places to pray, so Christians sell their churches to Muslims.

Yet this is not the worst option: churches are often sold to cities, and then used for all sort of events that have nothing to do with religion, that fit the tastes of the godless society. We do not accuse them, but it is ominous when people, society and nation abandon faith, when instead of faith some kind of ersatz, counterfeit is presented to create the appearance of well-being and happiness.

I say this not to judge anyone, but we must appreciate the blessing our nation has recieved to have kept faith through terrible persecutions, worse than any in the history of mankind. And behold the miracle of God: the children of yesterday's atheists, having grown up, found their way to the Church and today are raising their children and grandchildren in the faith.

Source: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5940126.html