Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, called on Russians to affirm their faith in resisting hostile attacks in his Christmas sermon on Sunday. “The fatherland is passing through a difficult part of its historical path,” he said in the sermon broadcast by Russian media in the early hours of Sunday, when the Russian Orthodox Church marks Christmas. A strong economy and a strong army, and also firm Orthodox faith, were needed Kirill said during the service in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The 77-year-old patriarch is a firm ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and…