The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has called feminism a "very dangerous" phenomenon that encourages women to take roles beyond housekeeping and rearing children.



In a speech made on April 9 which was posted on the church's website a day later, Kirill said men should focus on providing families with food, clothes, and housing.



He added that women should be "always directed to the inside, towards her children and her home."



He claimed that "the majority of feminist leaders are unmarried women who have no understanding of the importance of family life."



Kirill supported the jailing of members of the feminist group Pussy Riot last year for performing an anti-Putin "punk prayer" in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral.



The ultraconservative patriarch is a close ally of President Vladimir Putin and has sternly criticized political opposition protests.



Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP