The head of Russia’s Orthodox church has likened marriage equality to Nazism, the latest in a spate of controversies from the country’s highest religious authority.

The Moscow Times reports that Patriarch Kirill made the comments during a visit to Kyrgyzstan where he was promoting a new translation of a book he authored.

Citing Russian-language media, the Times reports that Kirill referred to “so-called homosexual marriages” as a threat to family values. “When laws are detached from morality they cease being laws people can accept,” he was quoted as saying, comparing such laws to those enacted in Nazi Germany.

According to the Times, the Patriarch has made similar comparisons between marriage equality and authoritarianism in the past; Kirill said in a 2016 interview with Russia Today that homosexual unions were a form of “Soviet totalitarianism” that threaten humanity.

[Moscow Times]

Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. Sign Up Now Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder.

Contact us at letters@time.com.