Who is Metropolitan Kirill really. His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill

Next February will mark 10 years since the enthronement (solemn enthronement) of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

He did a lot for the churching of his people, for strengthening the Russian Orthodox Church and establishing the moral authority of our country on the world stage. Much remains to be done.

Next February will mark 10 years since the enthronement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia took place in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

What was the path of the religious leader to the patriarchal throne, why did he decide to give up worldly life and choose to serve God? These questions are of interest to parishioners and ordinary people no less than information about the biography of Patriarch Kirill, his family and children.

Vladimir Gundyaeev, and that was the name of the future Patriarch in the world, originally from St. Petersburg. Grew up in a large believing family. His father Mikhail was a priest, his mother Raisa worked as a German teacher and sang in the church choir. Actually, there she met her husband, Michael.

Vladimir's grandfather, Vasily Stepanovich, was also a Christian, studied theological literature and had a great influence on the formation of his grandson's views.

Vladimir Gundyaeev, and that was the name of the future Patriarch in the world, originally from St. Petersburg

Volodya knew from childhood that he would choose the path of serving the Lord. Everything was leading up to this. There was even a sign from above. When little Vova accidentally passed through the Royal Gates, which is considered a sin, the rector of the church, having learned about this, laughed it off, they say, the boy will become a bishop.

Vladimir Gundyaeev grew up stubborn and wayward. Being an opponent of the communist regime, he refused to wear a pioneer tie. Problems with school management did not affect his studies: Vladimir studied well, read a lot.

Vladimir Gundyaeev grew up stubborn and wayward

In 1962, after he graduated from the "eight-year plan", Gundyayeev went to work as a cartographer in an ecological expedition, while simultaneously studying at a school for working youth. His family lived in poverty, an unimaginable fine for those times, more than 100 thousand rubles, was imposed on his father for his service, so Vladimir's relatives were in dire need of money and the young man tried to help them as best he could.

In one of the interviews, the Patriarch admitted that he always remembers that period, fraught with difficulties and trials, with warmth and great gratitude to the Almighty, because it was the time of his formation.

religious education

After 3 years, Vladimir enters the theological seminary, then the training takes place at the academy. In April 1969, 22-year-old Vladimir Gundyaev takes monastic vows. He is named Cyril and ordained a hierodeacon, later a hieromonk.

A future priest has to take two courses a year, but he succeeds, and he graduates from the academy with honors. Cyril is even awarded the degree of candidate of theological sciences.

In April 1969, 22-year-old Vladimir Gundyaev takes monastic vows.

An important decision for himself, to take the tonsure, he made consciously and later called it God's Finger. This event affects the entire subsequent biography of the future Patriarch Kirill, the church, the academy become his family, the parishioners become his children.

He continues to work at the Theological Academy, rapidly gaining rank after rank. For several years, Kirill has been working here as a rector, combining his position with teaching and chairmanship of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

He continues to work at the Theological Academy, rapidly getting rank after rank.

Writes books and publications, makes presentations. At the age of 30 he becomes a bishop. But Soviet officials do not like his active work.

In 1984, Kirill was transferred to serve in the Smolensk and Kaliningrad dioceses, which he subsequently ruled for a quarter of a century. In 1991 he received the rank of metropolitan. Later, the Patriarch emphasized more than once that it was this service that influenced his final formation and led to the Patriarchal throne.

1. One of the most popular online requests is about the biography and personal life of Patriarch Kirill, his family and children. Users also often search for photos of the wife of the Holy One and, of course, find nothing. The patriarch renounced his personal life in the name of serving the Lord God.
2. Patriarch Kirill became the first Patriarch in Russia born in the Soviet Union.
3. The TV program “The Shepherd’s Word”, which has been airing on Channel One for almost 25 years, is the author’s broadcast of the Patriarch. He is its creator and leader.
4. Kirill trains on a MiG plane and is the only Patriarch in the world who has the skills of a pilot.
5. The patriarch opposes surrogate motherhood and has spoken out against abortion more than once.
6. His Holiness is fond of mountain and water skiing, dreams of flying into space.
7. More than once, ill-wishers tried to tarnish the good name of Cyril. The scandals received wide publicity, but the religious leaders of Russia stood up for the Patriarch, saying that all the gossip is aimed at ruining the reputation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Kirill also called all the accusations against him an absolute provocation.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (in the world Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev) was born on November 20, 1946 in Leningrad.

Father - Gundyaev Mikhail Vasilyevich, priest, died in 1974. Mother - Gundyaeva Raisa Vladimirovna, teacher of German at school, in recent years a housewife, died in 1984. Elder brother - Archpriest Nikolai Gundyaev, professor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, rector Cathedral of the Transfiguration in St. Petersburg. Grandfather - Priest Vasily Stepanovich Gundyaev, a prisoner of Solovki, for church activities and the struggle against renovationism in the 20s, 30s and 40s. 20th century subjected to imprisonment and exile.

After graduating from the 8th grade of secondary school, Vladimir Gundyaev joined the Leningrad Complex Geological Expedition of the North-Western Geological Administration, where he worked from 1962 to 1965 as a cartographer, combining work with studying at a secondary school.

After graduating from high school in 1965, he entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, and then the Leningrad Theological Academy, from which he graduated with honors in 1970.

As chairman of the DECR, as part of official delegations, he visited all the Local Orthodox Churches, including accompanying His Holiness Patriarch Pimen and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II on their trips abroad.

As Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, he officially visited the Local Orthodox Churches: Constantinople (2009), Alexandria (2010), Antioch (2011), Jerusalem (2012), Bulgarian (2012), Cypriot (2012) d.), Polish (2012), Hellas (2013).

Inter-Christian Relations and Cooperation

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill took part in the work of inter-Christian organizations. Participated as a delegate in IV (Uppsala, Sweden, 1968), V (Nairobi, Kenya, 1975), VI (Vancouver, Canada, 1983) and VII (Canberra, Australia, 1991) General Assemblies of the WCC and as a guest of honor at the IX General Assembly of the WCC (Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2006); at the Salvation Today World Missionary Conference (Bangkok, 1973); he was President of the World Conference "Faith, Science and the Future" (Boston, 1979) and the World Convocation "Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation" (Seoul, 1990); participated in the assemblies of the commission "Faith and order" of the WCC in Accra (Ghana, 1974), in Lima (Peru, 1982), in Budapest (Hungary, 1989). He was the keynote speaker at the World Missionary Conference in San Salvador, Brazil in November 1996.

He was a delegate to the XI General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (Stirling, Scotland, 1986) and the XII General Assembly of the CEC (Prague, 1992), as well as one of the main speakers at the CEC European Assembly "Peace and Justice" (Basel, 6- May 21, 1989).

Participated in the Second European Assembly of the CEC in Graz, Austria (June 23-29, 1997) and the Third in Sibiu, Romania (September 5-9, 2007).

He was a participant in four rounds of bilateral discussions between theologians of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (Leningrad, 1967, Bari, Italy, 1969, Zagorsk, 1972, Trento, Italy, 1975).

Since 1977 - Secretary of the International Technical Commission for the preparation of a dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Since 1980, he has been a member of the International Theological Commission for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue. In this capacity, he took part in four plenary meetings of this commission: (Patmos-Rhodes, Greece, 1980; Munich, Germany, 1982; Crete, 1984; Valaam, Finland, 1988) and in the work of its Coordinating committee.

He was co-chairman of the second round of the Orthodox-Reformed Dialogue (Debrecen II) in 1976 in Leningrad and a member of the Evangelical Kirchentags in Wittenberg (GDR, 1983) in Dortmund (1991) in Hamburg (1995).

Participant of the dialogue with the delegation of the Old Catholic Church in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Rotterdam-Petersburg Commission, Moscow, 1996

As chairman of the DECR, on behalf of the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, he took part in contacts with the Churches of the USA, Japan, East Germany, Germany, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Norway, Iceland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Jamaica, Canada, Congo, Zaire, Argentina, Chile, Cyprus, China, South Africa, Greece.

Being the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, he held a number of meetings with the heads and representatives of non-Orthodox Churches and Christian organizations.

In 2012, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Chairman of the Polish Catholic Episcopal Conference signed a Joint Message to the peoples of Russia and Poland.

Participation in the Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church

He was a member of the Local Jubilee Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (June 1988, Zagorsk), chairman of its Editorial Committee and author of the draft Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted by the Jubilee Council.

He was a member of the Bishops' Council dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the restoration of the Patriarchate (October 1989) and the extraordinary Bishops' Council on January 30-31, 1990, as well as the Local Council on June 6-10, 1990, the Bishops' Councils on October 25-26, 1991. ; March 31 - April 4, 1992; June 11, 1992; November 29 - December 2, 1994; February 18-23, 1997; August 13-16, 2000; October 3-6, 2004, June 24-29, 2008

He presided over the Bishops' Councils (2009, 2011, 2013) and the Local Councils (2009), at the other Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church he was chairman of the Editorial Commission.

As the chairman of the DECR, he made reports on the work of the DECR. At the Jubilee Council in 2000, as chairman of the relevant Synodal Working Group and the Synodal Commission, he presented the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church.

At the Bishops' Council on October 3-6, 2004, he also delivered a report "On Relations with the Russian Church Abroad and the Old Believers."

Management of the Smolensk-Kaliningrad diocese (1984-2009)

During the stay of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Smolensk-Kaliningrad see, 166 parishes were opened (94 in Smolensk and the region, 72 in Kaliningrad and the region). 52 Orthodox churches have been restored and 71 have been rebuilt.

In 1989, the Smolensk Theological School was opened, which in 1995 was transformed into the Smolensk Theological Seminary.

Since 1998, the Interdiocesan Theological School has been operating, preparing church choir directors, catechists, icon painters and sisters of mercy. Most parishes in the diocese have Sunday schools. There are Orthodox gymnasiums and kindergartens.

Since 1992 the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture have been taught in public schools in the Smolensk and Kaliningrad regions.

Work as chairman of the DECR (1989-2009)

Represented the Russian Orthodox Church in commissions drafting the USSR Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” of October 1, 1990, the Law of the RSFSR “On Freedom of Religion” of October 25, 1990, and the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” associations” dated September 26, 1997.

As chairman of the DECR, he took part in many international public and peacekeeping initiatives.

He took part in the development of a church position and peacekeeping actions during the events of August 1991 and October 1993.

He was one of the initiators of the creation of the World Russian People's Council in 1993. He took part and made keynote speeches at the Councils (1993-2008). Since his election to the Patriarchal Throne, he has been the Chairman of the VRNS (since 2009).

As chairman of the Commission of the Holy Synod for the revival of religious and moral education and charity, he initiated the creation of synodal departments for religious education, for social service and charity, for interaction with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. He was the author of the Concept for the revival of charity and religious education, adopted by the Holy Synod on January 30, 1991.

Developed and submitted for approval by the Holy Synod "The concept of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the armed forces" in 1994.

From 1996 to 2000 - supervised the development and presented to the Jubilee Bishops' Council in 2000 "Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church."

He took an active part in the normalization of the church situation in Estonia. In this regard, he visited the Antioch and Jerusalem Patriarchates (trips to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel in 1996), and also participated in negotiations with representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Zurich (Switzerland) in March and twice in April 1996. , in Thessaloniki, Tallinn and Athens (1996), in Odessa (1997), in Geneva (1998), in Moscow, Geneva and Zurich (2000), in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich (2001 .), in Moscow and Istanbul (2003); he also repeatedly visited Estonia, where he negotiated with representatives of the government, parliament deputies and with the business circles of this country.

He took an active part in peacekeeping actions in Yugoslavia. He repeatedly visited Belgrade during the war, negotiated with the leadership of this country, initiated the creation of an informal international Christian peacekeeping group on Yugoslavia (Vienna, May 1999) and the convening of an international inter-Christian conference on the topic: "Europe after the Kosovo crisis: further actions of the Churches" in Oslo (Norway) in November 1999.

He was the main speaker at the Parliamentary Hearings on "Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church" (Moscow, 2001), and the topics "Religion and Health" (Moscow, 2003), "Improvement of legislation on freedom of conscience and on religious organizations: application practice, problems and solutions” (Moscow, 2004).

He initiated a dialogue with European organizations in Brussels and the creation in 2002 of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to European international organizations.

As chairman of the DECR, he visited Estonia (repeatedly), Switzerland (repeatedly), France (repeatedly), Spain (repeatedly), Italy (repeatedly), Belgium (repeatedly), Holland (repeatedly), Germany (repeatedly), Israel (repeatedly), Finland (multiple times), Ukraine (multiple times), Japan (multiple times), Canada (multiple times), China (multiple times), Hungary (multiple times), Moldova (multiple times), Norway (multiple times), Lebanon and Syria (multiple times), Serbia (multiple times) ), USA (multiple times), Turkey (multiple times), Brazil (multiple times), Australia (1991), Austria (multiple times), Latvia (1992), Chile (1992), Bulgaria (1994, 1998, 2005 1996, 2004, 2007), Czech Republic (1996, 2004, 2007), Slovakia (1996), Iran (1996), Lithuania (1997), Denmark (1997), Morocco (1997), Argentina (1997, 2006), Mexico (1998), Panama (1998), Peru (1998), Cuba (1998, 2004, 2008), Luxembourg (1999), Nepal ( 2000), Slovenia (2001), Malta (2001), Tunisia (2001), Mongolia (2001) , Croatia (2001), Vietnam (2001), Kampuchea (2001), Thailand (2001), Ireland (2001), Iraq (2002), Liechtenstein (2002), Philippines (2002), special regions of the PRC - Hong Kong (2001, 2002), Macau (2002), South Africa (2003, 2008), Malaysia (2003), Indonesia (2003), Singapore (2003), UAE (2004), Poland (2004), Netherlands (2004), Dominican Republic (2004), Yemen (2005), North Korea (2006), India (2006), Romania (2007), Turkmenistan (2008), Costa Rica (2008), Venezuela (2008), Colombia (2008), Ecuador (2008), Angola (2008), Namibia (2008). He visited Hungary, Mongolia, Slovenia, Iran, Iraq and Yemen on official visits at the invitation of the governments of these countries.

In 2009, a reform of the central organs of church administration was undertaken. The activities of the Administrative Department of the Moscow Patriarchate have been fundamentally reorganized, the scope of activities of the Department for External Church Relations has been clarified, new synodal departments have been created, the functions of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate have been separated, analytical work has been carried out to formulate the necessary changes in the structure of the Educational Committee under the Holy Synod and in general in the system of spiritual education. The activities of the General Church Court have been activated.

In 2012-2013 the formation of metropolises continues, the increase in the number of bishops and dioceses. The implementation of the instructions of the Bishops' Councils of 2011 and 2013 is being monitored. Based on the adopted documents on social, missionary, youth work, religious, educational and catechetical service in the Russian Orthodox Church, a detailed database of documents was developed, as well as partially provisions regulating the special training of ministers in these areas. There is a spread of transformations from the central apparatus of the Church to the level of dioceses. The subject "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is included in the curriculum of secondary schools in all regions of Russia.

During the Patriarchal service formed:

— Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church (2009)

— Organs of the church executive power:

• Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (2011)
• Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society (2009)
• Synodal Information Department (2009)
• Financial and Economic Department (2009)
• Synodal Committee for Interaction with the Cossacks (2010)
• Synodal Department for Prison Ministry (2010)
• Patriarchal Council for Culture (2010)
• Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism (2012), transformed from the Synodal Commission for Monasteries (2010)

— All-church collegiate bodies:

• Patriarchal Commission for Family and Motherhood Protection (2012), formerly Patriarchal Council for Family and Motherhood Protection (2011)

– Church-wide postgraduate and doctoral studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles (2009)

– Interdepartmental Coordinating Group for Teaching Theology in Universities (2012)

- Church-Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the perpetuation of the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church (2013), former name - Church-Public Council for the perpetuation of the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (2012)

As the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, in 2009-2013. visited countries: Azerbaijan (2009, 2010), Armenia (2010, 2011), Belarus (2009, 2012, 2013), Bulgaria (2012), Greece (2013 d) Egypt (2010), Israel (2012), Jordan (2012), Kazakhstan (2010, 2012), Cyprus (2012), China (2013), Lebanon (2011), Moldova (2011, 2013), Palestinian Authority (2012), Poland (2012), Syria (2011), Serbia (2013), Turkey (2009) .), Ukraine (2009, 2010 - 3 times, 2011 - 5 times, 2012, 2013), Montenegro (2013), Estonia (2013), Japan (2012 .).

By February 2014, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill made 124 trips to 67 dioceses, 156 trips to 26 stauropegial monasteries, in 21 of them repeatedly. He visited 7 courtyards of stavropegic monasteries. Made 432 visits to 105 churches in Moscow (data as of January 31, 2014).

During the service of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill formed:

• 46 metropolias of the Russian Orthodox Church;
• 113 dioceses, including 95 dioceses in Russia*;
• Central Asian metropolitan district (2011);
• vicariates in the Moscow diocese (2011).

The number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church increased from 159 at the beginning of 2009 to 273 at the beginning of 2014 (from 69 to 164 in Russia).

At the beginning of 2009 there were 200 bishops in the Russian Orthodox Church, at the beginning of 2014 there were 312*.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill headed 109 episcopal consecrations, including: in 2009 - 5; in 2010 - 9; in 2011 - 31; in 2012 - 41; in 2013 - 22; in 2014 - 1*.

Also, over the 5 years of his Patriarchal service, he performed 144 ordinations to the deacon and presbyter (18 to the deacon and 126 to the presbyter)*.

Awards

Awards of the Russian Orthodox Church

Church-wide awards

• 1973 - Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (II degree)
• 1986 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh (II degree)
• 1996 - Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow (I degree)
• 2001 - Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna (II degree)
• 2004 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh (I degree)
• 2006 - Order of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (II degree)

Orders of Self-Governing and Autonomous Churches of the Russian Orthodox Church

• 2006 - Order of St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves (I degree) (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
• 2006 - Order "Blessed Voivode Stefan the Great and Saint" (II degree) (Orthodox Church of Moldova)
• 2009 - Order of Hieromartyr Isidore Yuryevsky (I degree) (Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate)
• 2009 - Order in honor of the 450th anniversary of the bringing to the land of Volyn Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
• 2011 - Order of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)

Awards of the Local Orthodox Churches

• 2007 - Order of St. Savva the Sanctified (II degree) (Alexandria Orthodox Church)
• 2009 - St. Innocent Gold Medal (Orthodox Church in America)
• 2010 - Commemorative medal of the St. Vladimir Theological Seminary (Orthodox Church in America)
• 2010 - Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark (Alexandrian Orthodox Church)
• 2011 - Order of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (I degree) (Antioch Orthodox Church)
• 2012 - Order of the Holy Tsar Boris (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
• 2012 - Golden Order of the Apostle Barnabas (Cypriot Orthodox Church)
• 2012 - Order of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene (I degree) (Polish Orthodox Church)
• 2012 - Order of the Life-Giving Sepulcher "Grand Cross of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher" (Jerusalem Orthodox Church)

Awards from other religious organizations and Christian denominations

• 2006 - Order of St. Gregory of Parumalsky (Malankara Church, India)
• 2010 - Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian Apostolic Church)
• 2011 - Order "Sheikh-ul-Islam" (Office of Muslims of the Caucasus)
• 2012 - Order for services to the Ummah, I degree (Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus)

State awards of the Russian Federation

• 1988 - Order of Friendship of Peoples
• 1995 - Order of Friendship
• 1996 - Anniversary medal "300 years of the Russian Navy"
• 1997 - Medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow"
• 2001 - Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (III degree)
• 2006 - Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (II degree)
• 2011 - Order of Alexander Nevsky

State awards of foreign states

• 2009 - Order of Friendship of Peoples (Republic of Belarus)
• 2010 - Medal "65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic)
• 2010 - Order "Sharaf" (Republic of Azerbaijan)
• 2011 - Order of the Republic ("OrdinulRepublicii") (Republic of Moldova)
• 2011 - Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots (Republic of Armenia)
• 2012 - Order of the Star of Bethlehem (Palestinian National Authority)

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was also awarded a number of other federal, departmental and regional state awards; has more than 120 awards from Russian and foreign public organizations; is an honorary citizen of the cities of Smolensk, Kaliningrad, Neman (Kaliningrad region), Murom (Vladimir region), Smolensk, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo regions, the Republic of Mordovia and other regions and settlements of the Russian Federation.

Patriarch Kirill is a famous domestic figure of religion. This man, for certain reasons, devoted his whole life to serving God and the church. This patriarch was able to become one of the most famous figures of religion in the Russian Federation, for some people his personality causes admiration, and for some - censure.

It is worth noting that a lot of rumors and a variety of gossip were previously associated with the patriarch. Some happened in reality, some far-fetched. But what was at the origin? How did Cyril become a minister of the church? How well does he fulfill his obligations and does he generally love what he does?

Patriarch Kirill is not an American, and not even a domestic star, therefore he does not really need to chase after elusive youth or carefully monitor his figure. By the way, Patriarch Kirill's photo in his youth and now, for comparison, is very easy to find on the Internet. For him, as for a church employee, it is much more profitable to look more solid. So it becomes clear that he doesn't care much about his height, weight, age. How old is Patriarch Kirill is a simple question. He is currently 71 years old. With a height of 178 centimeters, a man weighs 92 kilograms.

Despite all of the above, the man tries to monitor his own weight, swims from time to time, and often walks. As you can see, he remembers the truth that you also need to take care of yourself. After all, "God saves the safe."

Biography of Patriarch Kirill

Patriarch Kirill (name at birth - Vladimir Gundyaev) was born in the late autumn of 1946. It is worth noting an interesting case. When, as a baby, his mother first came to church with him, the boy accidentally passed through the Royal Gates. The woman immediately took him to the pastor so that he would forgive the sin, but the clergyman only waved him off with the words: "He will be a bishop." Probably, it was the fate of little Vladimir to embark on a long and thorny path of serving the church. Of course, it was still far from holding a big position, but at the same time, everything that happened in his life throughout his life, all these events led in the end to one single conclusion - becoming an important person in the church. And to receive the title of patriarch, as well as to the adoption of a new name, Vladimir came far from immediately.

His mother, Raisa Gundyaeva, worked as a school teacher and taught German. And the father - Mikhail Gundyaev - is worth noting, he was also a clergyman. It is difficult to deny that this fact also had a certain influence on Vladimir's choice of a further life path. Although, here we can say that the whole family of the future patriarch was connected with religion. His grandfather, for example, was often sent into exile, as accused of connection with the Christian Church. Brother - Nikolai - was a priest in the St. Petersburg Cathedral. And my sister - Elena - held the post of headmistress in the theological gymnasium.

Before starting his own religious activity, the future patriarch completed only eight classes at school. He tried out in geology, but a few years later he entered the seminary, and then the theological academy.

The guy received the name Cyril after becoming a monk. From that very moment, the biography of Patriarch Kirill begins as a minister of the church.

Repeatedly he took part in what related to the development of the Moscow Patriarchate. Since the nineties, Kirill began to pay much more attention to relations with society, as well as much more effort to develop this activity. So, in the early nineties, a program appeared on television with his participation - “The Word of the Shepherd”. It dealt with various religious topics, and it was very popular not only among ordinary people, but also among high ranks.

A year later, Patriarch Kirill began to actively cooperate with the government of the Russian Federation. Often he even became a full-fledged member of various advisory organizations. Organized various cultural events. For example, the celebration of two thousand years of Christianity. Moreover, in accordance with the information obtained as a result of a survey of the local population in 2012, most of the common people approve of the work of the patriarch.

Among other things, Patriarch Kirill maintains a profile on Facebook. There he chats with visitors to his page, answers questions. Very often he gives answers to those questions that are of particular interest to other people. There are more than five hundred posts on his profile on this social network. He is also the author of books on religion and the clergy.

Personal life of Patriarch Kirill

First of all, it is worth noting that the personal life of Patriarch Kirill simply does not exist, at least according to official sources. He is obliged to serve the church, and all the clergy, as you know, take a vow of celibacy. Therefore, there is absolutely nothing strange in the fact that this person, despite his already quite advanced age, does not have his own family.

In modern terms, he "married his work." After all, more than once he spoke about how important it is to spread the light of religion in the world. How true these words are, hardly anyone can seriously argue. But one cannot ignore the fact that this man is a church employee and a priori he should not have love affairs.

Family of Patriarch Kirill

Taking into account all of the above, we can assume that the family of Patriarch Kirill are the same clergy as he himself. He does not have an official wife, as well as no children. The most important thing, in his opinion, is to spend life devoting it to the development of the community of religious houses at the international level.

And he does it very well, because even in his younger years he successfully overcame the path of a clergyman in order to achieve in the end what he is now. It is difficult to say whether he suffers from the fact that he left no heirs behind him. But, if you look at it from the other side, he doesn’t have much time for it either. And it cannot be said that he is lonely, because believers constantly come to him, for advice or with requests.

Patriarch Kirill on a yacht with girls

The patriarch, although he is not a singer or actor, nevertheless, he is a well-known throughout the country, a public figure. It is not surprising that scandals gather around this person with enviable regularity. Very often he was accused of various sins. And it's hard to tell what's true and what's fiction. Once there was even a rumor that Patriarch Kirill often spends his free time on a yacht with girls, and spends all church income on personal benefits.

The patriarch himself, of course, denies such rumors or even simply ignores them, arguing that these are only slander and slander on the part of ill-wishers and those who go against the church. Of course, everyone is sinful, but it is not easy to say how reliable the accusations against Kirill are. After all, he faithfully serves God, but, be that as it may, he is a man.

Yaponchik and Patriarch Kirill are one person

One cannot but add that the personality of the patriarch is often associated not only with gossip, but also with a variety of rumors. At times it even reaches the absurd. Take, for example, the recent rumor that Yaponchik and Patriarch Kirill are one person. This rumor mentions the famous thief Mishka Yaponchik, who died in the early 2000s.

Some people notice striking similarities between these celebrities. So, for example, they say that the patriarch has a problematic past and thus he disappeared so as not to go to jail. This rumor was neither confirmed nor refuted, but most of the parishioners believe that these are the tricks of the patriarch's ill-wishers who want to tarnish his dignity.

Children of Patriarch Kirill

As noted earlier, this man has no children of his own. The children of Patriarch Kirill are a believing people. Parishioners and those who need support or advice. So says the patriarch himself. Many times he said that he could help those who came to him. To do this, he also began to master social networks, so that he could give answers to the most interesting questions.

There is a possibility, of course, that he would like to have children of his own. But the presence of dignity does not allow one to indulge in such worldly pleasures as a quiet life, a spouse and a child. But Vladimir chose the path of a clergyman.

Wife of Patriarch Kirill

The wife of Patriarch Kirill - for a man this is a topic that is better not to raise. After all, when he set foot on the path of a minister of the church, having made this choice, he completely deprived himself of love. And although you can often hear that Cyril committed a sin, that he was often seen surrounded by young girls, nothing has been officially proven.

Most people believe that these are just fictions, and that in reality the patriarch faithfully serves his church, and does not plan to deviate from his path. According to official information, this clergyman has neither children nor a beloved wife. He considers the church to be his home, and calls the parishioners his children.

How much is the watch of Patriarch Kirill

Some time ago, this churchman could be seen wearing a clock. And even a simple person, at one glance at them, can understand that the cost of watches is far from small. Therefore, almost immediately after this, rumors spread that Cyril was very much abusing his powers, and squandering church receipts for personal purposes.

Many were interested in the question: how much do Patriarch Kirill's watches cost. The patriarch himself actively denied everything and even tried to hide the expensive thing from prying eyes, but nevertheless it became known that this watch of Patriarch Kirill Breguet is a fairly well-known brand, and it costs about 30 thousand euros. As you can see, the holy father does not mind sometimes pampering himself with too expensive trinkets.

Patriarch Kirill "The Word of the Shepherd"

It has already been mentioned earlier that Patriarch Kirill has already collaborated with society more than once in order to bring talk about God to the people. A similar project of his was the popular on television program "The Word of the Shepherd" with his participation. Patriarch Kirill led the "Word of the Shepherd", considering a variety of religious topics, answering pressing questions. And although it seems that at present, few people watch religious channels, and even just programs, a little earlier this program gained immense popularity not only among lay people, but also among officials. The TV show was launched in order to help any person who wants to reconsider their views on life or needs help.

The Patriarch never refused to help those who tried to improve their lives. Of course, not without evil tongues, which said that all this is required for Cyril only to attract more attention to himself. It is difficult to say how reliable this is, but, be that as it may, one must respect his dignity. And as for rumors, they always surrounded public people.

The Patriarch of Russia is a famous person. He always makes a great contribution to state affairs. The head of the Orthodox Church in our country is Kirill Gundyaev. It is he who is a prominent participant in many political processes in modern Russia. He owns many charitable projects.

Biography

Kirill Gundyaev became Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 2009, immediately after the death of his predecessor Alexy II. He was born on November 20, 1946 in Leningrad and was named Vladimir by his parents at birth. His childhood passed in the difficult post-war years.

A family

According to the official biography, the family of Kirill Gundyaev was deeply religious, even though the church was persecuted at that time. His grandfather Vasily Stepanovich, born in 1879, was an ordinary machinist, but became interested in theological literature. Already in 1922, he was sent to Solovki on the denunciation of opponents. They were from the Renovationist movement - a religious movement in opposition to the Orthodox. After the war, it continued for some time to support the power of the Soviets. Vasily opposed them. In the camps, he continued to hold divine services in secret, there is evidence that he was punished once for this - he lived in a punishment cell for a month. He stayed there until 1955.

An interesting biography of father Kirill Gundyaev. It was Mikhail Vasilyevich, who dreamed of serving in the church from an early age. After graduating from school, he managed to work in the church, and in 1926 he was already studying at the Higher Theological Courses in Leningrad.

He proved himself to be a diligent student. However, after 2 years, the courses were closed, and he ended up in the army. After the service, he studied at a technical school, and then at an industrial university. Michael's plans were to become a doctor, but due to the fact that he was noted in theology courses, he was not admitted to this profession.

In 1934, the father of Kirill Gundyaev was arrested for serving in the temple and singing on the kliros. This happened a couple of days before the wedding. Mikhail was accused of attempting to assassinate Stalin. His fiancée and later wife, Raisa Kuchina, born in 1909, was a teacher of German. She was also religious and participated in church hymns, during which she met Michael. Together they lived for 3 years in Kolyma. Then they returned to Leningrad, where Mikhail went to work at the factory. In 1940, their first son, Nikolai, was born.

During the war, Mikhail fortified the besieged city, and since 1943 he fought at the front. Since 1945, after the victory, the family lived in Leningrad, which was recovering from the blockade. Then Vladimir, the second son, appeared in her. During this period of time, the Soviet government was establishing relations with the church, and Mikhail, at the risk of his entire family, achieved ordination. Since 1947 he became a deacon and served in the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God.

According to some studies, Kirill Gundyaev is Mordvin by nationality. The thing is that his surname comes from the name Gundyai. According to the official biography of Kirill Gundyaev, he is Russian by nationality.

Childhood

The children's biography of Kirill Gundyaev unfolds against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the state and the church. For serving, his father received an incredible fine of 120,000 rubles. For example, a new Pobeda car in those days cost 15,000, and the wealthiest people could save up for it for several years. Some money was collected in the parishes, but by his actions, Michael brought his entire large family to a state of extreme need, which continued until their death. In addition to 2 sons, the couple had a daughter, Elena, born in 1949, by that time.

At that time, the family was always very dependent on the father. Both the children and Gundyaev's wife lived in dire need and were forced to accept food from parishioners who took pity on them.

School years

The grandfather who returned after imprisonment in Solovki greatly influenced the worldview of the younger Gundyaevs. He told his grandchildren that no trials that claimed many lives aroused fear in him. Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev himself in his biography emphasized that for him it was "the image of a man who knew what God's love is."

Vladimir began to go to school like torture. He was an opponent of communism, did not join either the pioneers or the Komsomol members. The principal of the school asked him to wear a pioneer's tie, but the pioneer said that he would go to the temple in it. Despite the constant discussion at the teachers' councils, Vladimir studied well. Most of all he was interested in physics and other exact disciplines.

Education

With the end of the eight-year-old, Volodya decided not to study further, but to live independently. In the future Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev, a desire leaped up not to burden his family living in extreme need, who were still raising their youngest daughter.

He got a job at the evening department, and since 1962 he worked in the cartography of the Leningrad Complex Geological Expedition. However, then the biography of Kirill Gundyaev turned towards his father. He went to the spiritual academy.

The true biography of Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev was that he studied there according to an accelerated program, thanks to the requirements of Metropolitan N. Rotov, whose secretary he later became. This happened in 1970.

Interestingly, his brother and sister also became clergy in the future, when he gained influence.

Religious activities

In 1969 Kirill Gundyaev was tonsured a monk. It was at this moment that Vladimir received the name Cyril, became a hierodeacon, and then a hieromonk. A year later, he graduated from the academy with honors and received a PhD in theology.

At the same time, he was Rotov's secretary and a teacher at the same academy from which he graduated. In 1971 he became archimandrite, and since October he has been rector at an Orthodox church in Geneva, Switzerland. From that moment on, his growth went up the career ladder. It took him only 20 years to go from archimandrite to metropolitan. Metropolitan Kirill Gundyaev became chairman of the commission in the Holy Synod. It was she who solved all the problems facing the ROC.

Social activity

In the 1990s, the biography of Kirill Gundyaev makes a turn towards active social activity. In 1994, the program "The Word of the Shepherd" went on television, the main character of which he was. In addition, he developed the social concept of the ROC. He chaired the Department of Foreign Relations of the ROC MP. Cyril was an active participant in relations between the state and the church.

In 2000, he achieved the adoption of the "Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church." It was in it that the position of Orthodoxy in relation to the state was stated.

The joint work of the Government of the Russian Federation and Kirill Gundyaev began in 1995. He acted as a consultant on many issues. At his suggestion, many decisions were made related to the Chechen war. Kirill Gundyaev organized numerous cultural events in his youth.

So, it was he who arranged a holiday in honor of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity on behalf of Russia in several countries. He was an active public figure before his enthronement.

Among other things, Kirill Gundyaev is the author of a number of articles and books. He is actively engaged in scientific and educational activities, proclaiming everywhere the unity of Christians. He became one of the honorary members of domestic and foreign theological academies, became a member of the Commission for State Prizes for achievements in literature.

Patriarchate

When Alexy II died in 2008, Metropolitan Kirill was chosen as Patriarch. In 2009, he became one, having received 75% of the vote in the vote. His most active activity was noted in establishing ties with foreign Orthodox churches. He also held many meetings with leaders of other faiths. All this helped to strengthen the position of the Church and allowed the Russian Federation to cooperate with a large number of countries.

Being enthusiastic and dedicated, he repeatedly noted that radical preachers should be treated with caution. He made similar statements many times. As the Patriarch said, there are more and more false teachers in Russia, and they plunge the parishioners into confusion. Behind their beautiful ideal slogans is a weapon that destroys the Church. More than once the Patriarch was seen at meetings with Vladimir Putin. His activities greatly helped the policy of the president.

Scandals

Cyril became a participant in a number of scandals that thundered throughout the country. The first such story in which his name was highlighted was the case of the application of tax incentives for the import of alcohol and tobacco products in the 1990s.

According to Novaya Gazeta, he was personally interested in making a deal related to the import of these goods. But many religious leaders made statements that all this was just a provocation of the enemies. This company was allegedly planned by ill-wishers, wanting to tarnish the name of a religious person.

In addition, it is noted that Kirill Gundyaev was photographed more than once and caught in interaction with the KGB. In 2003, V. Putin read a letter from a priest of the Moscow Helsinki Group that the Patriarch was a KGB agent. But this action in society was considered a provocation directed against him. This action did not result in any result.

Since 2010, the Patriarch has again become a participant in a high-profile scandal. According to the biography of Kirill Gundyaev, the cohabitant and ally of the patriarch found a large layer of dust in his apartment. She called the commission, which established that the substances were in the apartment due to repairs being carried out downstairs. Priest Yury Shevchenko lived there. But the scandal was that the examination revealed the presence of carcinogens in the dust. As a result, the damage caused to the property of the Patriarch at that time was estimated at 20 million rubles. According to the biography of Kirill Gundyaev, a cohabitant sued this amount from a neighbor from below, and the press was interested in her presence with the Patriarch. Everyone began to find out the status of a woman who apparently lived with him in the same apartment. Then, much later, the owner of the apartment said that Yu. Luzhkov's deputy had presented it by decree of B. Yeltsin, but the Patriarch did not live in it for more than a week, but presented it to his second cousin, who discovered the layer of dust.

The next scandal in the biography of Kirill Gundyaev is about his condition. In 2012, his photograph was published on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, where an expensive Brequet watch was present on Cyril's hand. Then the clock was removed from this photo, but remained in the reflection on the table. The press service of the Russian Orthodox Church called this case an absurdity by mistake of the editor.

The essence of the scandal was that this watch cost 30,000 euros, and the Patriarch himself stated in the media at first that the presence of the watch was drawn in Photoshop, and then called it a gift. All this caused heated discussions in society about the role of the Church and about the money of taxpayers and parishioners. Cyril himself in his sermons urges not to strive for a good, prosperous life.

In addition, the foreign press estimated the fortune of the Patriarch at $4 billion. He owns more than one car from the category of the most expensive, a yacht, an airplane and expensive watches. But Kirill himself fights off the attacks of the media, emphasizing that all the funds received by the church are used for their intended purpose. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church opened Orthodox schools and charitable foundations. According to the Patriarch himself, all accusers seek only to humiliate the Russian Orthodox Church and criticize Orthodoxy in our country.

Nevertheless, according to opinion polls, Kirill is supported by 99% of the population, however, the World Wide Web shows a great degree of dissatisfaction with him against the backdrop of many scandals, which, even years later, are the subject of people's indignation.

For the most part, people are worried that he was not entitled to all the luxuries that he possessed. After all, according to church laws, which he actively promotes, he has no right to acquire all this. It is curious that the heads of a number of European states, obviously having the opportunity to live luxuriously, live much simpler and more modestly than the Russian Patriarch, although they do not have a law prohibiting luxury. This is often noticed in connection with the name of Cyril. Who really dedicates himself to his work?

Personal life

In the biography of Kirill Gundyaev's family, no children were ever noted. But after that scandal with dusty property, the press became aware that Lidia Leonova was registered in his personal apartment, about which little is known, despite the hype raised in all the media. The journalists managed to find out that she was the daughter of a cook in the Leningrad regional committee of the CPSU.

The press caught the priest in cohabitation with the fair sex, and he himself called her a second cousin. Moreover, in the media he was dubbed a family man, having found a joint photo of him with this woman from 1988. But the Patriarch himself claims that, since he serves God, he renounced love affairs and devotes himself entirely to service. Therefore, he does not have any female partners.

Children

Kirill himself considers his children the parishioners who listen to him as a preacher. According to Christian laws, he cannot have his own biological children. He often helps orphanages where orphans live, like many people who occupy a high position in society. He created several charitable foundations to help the disabled.

Activity details

Since February 1991, by decree of Patriarch Alexy II, Kirill became a metropolitan.

In 1993, he was co-chairman, and already in 1995 - Deputy Head of the World Russian People's Council. In 1994, he became honorary president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. In February 1994 he became a member of the Synodal Theological Commission.

In 1995-2000, Kirill became the head of the Synodal Working Group to develop the concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of church-state relations and the problems of Russian society.

In December 2008, he announced to the media that he was categorically against reforming Orthodoxy in any form.

At the same time, having met with students at the Sretensky Theological Seminary, he stated that the main task of the church before the revolution was the creation of a believing intelligentsia, which Anthony Khrapovitsky dreamed of (which was banned by the Moscow Patriarchate). But this was not possible, which resulted in subsequent troubles for Orthodoxy.

He was the first in modern history to perform the rite of washing the feet in April 2009.

He also stated that Kyiv is Constantinople for the Orthodox and has its own Hagia Sophia, and is also considered the spiritual center and southern capital of Orthodoxy.

In 2009, he announced that the main criterion in evaluating the work of the Russian Orthodox Church is not how full the churches are, but the spiritual state of society.

This was manifested in 2005 in the ban on the parade of sexual minorities in Moscow. Kirill supported Yuri Luzhkov in this decision. Since 2008, the Patriarch has vehemently condemned homosexuality, but at the same time noted that people with an innate orientation can live as they see fit.

The Patriarch also contributed to the cause of the punk band Pussy Riot, which danced in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Largely thanks to him, in August 2012, 3 young girls were sentenced under the article on hooliganism, after which they were imprisoned for 2 years and served their sentences in general regime colonies.

All this also caused a wave of indignation in the World Wide Web both in Russia and abroad. But the Moscow Patriarchate itself said that the whole point was the presence of a whole campaign seeking to discredit the name of Kirill. Even he himself announced in the TV show "The Word of the Shepherd" that people "who criticize the church" "demand spiritual healing."

His first foreign visit as Patriarch was a trip to Istanbul to the Patriarch of Constantinople. As a result, it was stated that relations with foreign colleagues began to warm up.

According to the results of a sociological survey conducted in June 2012 by VTsIOM, 46% of respondents treated the Patriarch with respect, 27% inspire hope, trust in 19%, sympathy in 17% of respondents; distrust causes in 4% of respondents, disappointment - in 2%, indifference - in 13%, antipathy in 1% of survey participants, 1% condemn it or perceive it skeptically.

In August 2012, Kirill appeared on the social network Facebook with the account PatriarchKirill, but back in May of the same year, the deputy head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate indicated that the account was not Gundyaev’s personal page, but that it would be the official resource of the patriarchate. He noted that it would not be possible to contact Cyril directly.

In September 2012, he was invited by the head of the Polish Orthodox Church to Poland, where the main religion is Catholicism. This meeting pursued more political goals, becoming a serious step towards establishing contact with the Holy See. These events caused a positive reaction in the Vatican.

In June 2013, Kirill visited Greece, meeting with Pontic Greeks. Then he visited Transnistria.

It is interesting that with the collapse of the USSR, the Commission of the Presidium of the Russian Armed Forces to investigate the causes and circumstances of the State Emergency Committee concluded that the KGB used the church to recruit and send their agents to it. Thus, a number of church leaders were indeed agents of this structure.

Comparing the known foreign trips of the agent "Mikhailov" and Kirill, the commission developed the point of view that these persons are identical. At the same time, the famous letter was sent to V. Putin stating that the Patriarch was a KGB officer.

Kirill's trip to Ukraine after receiving an invitation from the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 2009 was accompanied by riots and protests by a number of church associations.

In his speech at the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, he criticized " influence on Western Christian theology of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the philosophical ideas of liberalism.

In August, the Patriarch made a statement that he would not refuse to spend 6 months in Kyiv, and 6 in Moscow, and could become a Ukrainian citizen. But a day later, Archbishop Mitrofan called these words a joke.

In the end, according to newspaper reports, the circle of security officials did not like Kirill's actions during his visit to Ukraine.

During his visit to Belarus, Kirill addressed the people from the porch of the church and announced that he considers himself the Patriarch of the people who came out of the Kyiv baptismal font. He thus emphasized that the Patriarchate will not reduce the boundaries of its activities in accordance with the boundary that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

These words essentially cast doubt on his recognition of the sovereignty of a number of states. He himself said that some countries have recognized their sovereignty, but are not able to make decisions in accordance with their own interests. This caused a strong negative reaction in society.

Conclusion

At the moment, Patriarch Kirill is active in religious and social activities. He makes a great contribution to politics, establishes relations between the Russian Federation and other states.

KIRILL (in the world Vladimir Mikhailovich GUNDYAEV) Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (2009-), former Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Head of the World Russian People's Council.

Grandfather - Priest Vasily Stepanovich Gundyaev - a railway mechanic by profession, one of the active fighters against renovationism in the Nizhny Novgorod region under the leadership of Metropolitan Sergius (Stargorodsky, later Patriarch), was arrested in 1922, served time in Solovki; after returning from prison, in the mid-1950s he became a priest.

Father - Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev (January 18, 1907 - October 13, 1974), priest. In 1933 he graduated from the Mechanical College, entered the Leningrad Industrial Institute; was arrested, accused of political disloyalty, on February 25, 1934 he was sentenced to 3 years in labor camp (in Kolyma). On March 9, 1947, he was ordained a deacon, on March 16 of the same year - a priest by Metropolitan Grigory (Chukov) of Leningrad, appointed to the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God on Vasilyevsky Island. In 1951 he was transferred to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior, where he soon began to act as assistant rector for liturgical affairs. In 1960 he was transferred to the post of rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Krasnoye Selo; later the Seraphim Church, in 1972 - the rector of the St. Nicholas Church on Bolshaya Okhta.

Mother - Raisa Vladimirovna Gundyaeva (November 7, 1909 - November 2, 1984; nee Kuchina), a German language teacher at school, in the last years of her life - a housewife.

Both parents are buried at the Bolsheokhtinsky cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Brother, Archpriest Nikolai Mikhailovich Gundyaev, since 1977 rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg, professor at St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

The younger sister Elena is the director of an Orthodox gymnasium.

After graduating from the 8th grade of secondary school, Vladimir Gundyaev joined the Leningrad Complex Geological Expedition of the North-Western Geological Administration, where he worked from 1962 to 1965 as a cartographer, combining work with studying at a secondary school.

After graduating from high school in 1965, he entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, and then the Leningrad Theological Academy, from which he graduated with honors in 1970.

On April 3, 1969, Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Nikodim (Rotov) was tonsured a monk and named after Kirill. On April 7, he was ordained a hierodeacon by him, and on June 1 of the same year, a hieromonk.

After graduating from the academy, he was left at the LDA as a professorial fellow, teacher of dogmatic theology and assistant inspector of the LDA and S.

Since 1970 - candidate of theology of the Leningrad Theological Academy.

In 1970-1971. - teacher of dogmatic theology and assistant inspector of the Leningrad theological schools; at the same time - the personal secretary of Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Nikodim (Rotov), ​​chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and class teacher of the 1st class of the seminary.

In 1971, he represented the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church at the General Assembly of the world Orthodox youth organization SINDESMOS (at this assembly, the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church became members of SINDESMOS) and was elected a member of its executive committee.

In 1972, he accompanied Patriarch Pimen on his trip to the countries of the Middle East, as well as to Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Greece and Romania.

In 1971-1974 - Representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, rector of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

From December 26, 1974 to December 26, 1984 - Rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy and Seminary. In 1974-1984 - Associate Professor of the Patrology Department of the Leningrad Theological Academy.

From November 18, 1976 to October 12, 1978 - Deputy Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe (according to a report dated November 4, 1976 from Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe, about the need to appoint a deputy to him in connection with the fifth heart attack - with the proposal of Kirill's candidacy).

Since 1986 - manager of parishes in the Kaliningrad region.

Since 1988 - Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

From November 13, 1989 to 2009 - Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (since August 2000 - Department for External Church Relations), permanent member of the Holy Synod.

For 19 years of leadership of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Kirill turned it, according to experts, into one of the most efficient administrative structures of the Russian Orthodox Church. Without his "ministry" almost no important issue is resolved. In recent years, since the talk of the possible resignation of Patriarch Alexy began, Vladyka Kirill has been called one of the main contenders for the patriarchal throne.

In early 1993, with the sanction of Patriarch Alexy II, he joined the International Preparatory Committee for the Convocation of the World Russian Council in Moscow (initiated by Igor Kolchenko's World Russian Congress, Alexei Podberezkin's RAU corporation, Valery Ganichev's Roman-gazeta, as well as magazines "Our contemporary" and "Moscow"). Becoming one of the five co-chairs of the Preparatory Committee, he held May 26-28, 1993 in St. Danilov Monastery I World Russian Council.

On December 6, 2008, the day after the death of Patriarch Alexy II, at a meeting of the Holy Synod chaired by Metropolitan Vladimir (Kotlyarov) of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, he was elected Patriarchal Locum Tenens by secret ballot.

On the same day, at the end of the all-night vigil in the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, he led a memorial service for Patriarch Alexy II, co-served by bishops - permanent members of the Holy Synod.

To discuss candidates for the Patriarchal Throne in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church gathered on January 25, which was attended by 198 delegates from 202 bishops of the Russian Church (four bishops - Archbishop Alipy of Chicago and Detroit (ROCOR), Bishop Daniel of Iria (ROCOR), Metropolitan Kharkov and Bogodukhov Nikodim and Bishop Panteleimon of Kirovograd and Novomirgorod were absent from the Council).

During the counting of votes, one ballot was declared invalid. Following the meeting, the Council of Bishops proposed to the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church the candidacies of the three bishops who received the largest number of votes: Kirill (Gundyaev), Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne; Kliment (Kapalin), Metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk, manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; Filaret (Vakhromeev), Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. Metropolitan Kirill won 97 votes, Metropolitan Kliment - 32 votes, Metropolitan Philaret - 16 votes.

On January 27, the Local Council gathered in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to elect the 16th Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. At 12 o'clock the first plenary session of the Council began, at which the Presidium of the Local Council was elected, greetings to the Council were announced, and the Patriarchal Locum Tenens delivered a report. At the meeting, a message of congratulations from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was read out.

At the second plenary session, which began at 15:30, the agenda, program and regulations of the meetings of the Local Council were approved, the working bodies of the Local Council were elected, and the procedure for electing the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was approved. At the meeting, one of the three candidates, the Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk withdrew his candidacy for the election of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, calling to vote for Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. Metropolitan Kirill, in response, said that he bows his head to Metropolitan Filaret, whom he deeply reveres, and recalls with deep satisfaction the two decades during which they worked together as part of the Holy Synod under the leadership of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy. After Metropolitan Filaret withdrew his candidacy, Bishop Feodosii (Bilchenko) of Polotsk and Glubokoe proposed to elect the Patriarch by lot. However, his proposal did not find support from other bishops. The Council did not approve other candidates for participation in the voting. As a result, the participants in the Local Council elected a new Primate from two candidates by secret ballot.

At 5:30 p.m., the third plenary session began, at which voting took place, after which the counting of votes began. At 10 p.m., members of the counting commission came out to the participants of the Council, and the chairman of the commission, Metropolitan of Krasnodar and Kuban Isidor, announced the results of the vote. According to the protocol, 702 delegates of the Council took part in the secret ballot. The number of ballots after voting is 700, of which 677 are valid and 23 are invalid. Out of 677 votes, 508 councilors voted for Metropolitan Kirill, and 169 for Metropolitan Clement.

On January 27, 2009, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church elected Metropolitan Kirill as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. To the question of Metropolitan Vladimir of Kyiv whether Metropolitan Kirill accepts his election as Primate of the Church, Vladyka Kirill replied: “I accept my election as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, I thank you and in no way contrary to what I say,” and bowed.

On February 1, 2009, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was enthroned at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (Moscow).

Since 1990 - Chairman of the Commission of the Holy Synod for the revival of religious and moral education and charity, member of the Synodal Biblical Commission.

In 1991, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan. Since 1993 - co-chairman, since 1995 - deputy head of the World Russian People's Council.

In February 1995 he led the II World Russian Council. Shortly before this, President Yeltsin, during an informal conversation with Kirill, promised him to return the lands confiscated from her after the revolution to the Church, and then (under pressure from Anatoly Chubais) took back the promise. At the Council, Cyril made a thinly veiled criticism of the authorities for immoral and anti-national policies. The establishment of the "World Russian Council" as a "permanent supra-party forum" under the auspices of the Church was declared, four co-chairs of the Council were elected (Metropolitan Kirill, I. Kolchenko, V. Ganichev, Natalya Narochnitskaya). Under the influence of radicals (Mikhail Astafiev, Ksenia Myalo, N. Narochnitskaya, I. Kolchenko), the Council adopted a number of purely political, rather radical anti-Western declarations, the adoption of which the church hierarchs headed by Cyril did not interfere with.

In the interval between February and December 1995, Kirill moderated the opposition of the "non-party forum" he headed, and at the III World Russian Council in early December 1995 did not allow the adoption of any harsh political statements. The organization was renamed the World Russian People's Council, the head of which was unanimously elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, and Metropolitan Kirill was one of his deputies.

Since 1994 - Honorary President of the World Conference "Religion and Peace" and member of the Synodal Theological Commission.

Since 1994, he has been the host of the spiritual and educational program "The Word of the Shepherd" on Channel One. In 1995 - 2000 He was the chairman of the Synodal Working Group on the development of the concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of church-state relations and the problems of modern society.

Since 1995 - member of the Public Council under the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation on the settlement of the situation in the Chechen Republic, member of the Presidium of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art.

Since August 2, 1995 until 2009 - Member of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation (reappointed to the Council in 1996, 2001 and 2004).

In 1996 he was a member of the Joint Commission of the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow on the "Estonian issue".

From June 6, 1996 - Chairman of the working group of the Holy Synod to develop a draft concept, reflecting the general church view on issues of church-state relations and the problems of modern society as a whole.

In 1996, he became a member of the Board of Directors of Peresvet Bank.

Since 1996 - Member of the Board of the Russian State Maritime Historical and Cultural Center (Marine Center).

Since 1998 - member of the Russian organizing committee for the preparations for the meeting of the third millennium and the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity

Fulfilling the obediences of the Hierarchy, His Eminence Kirill was:

from 1975 to 1982 - Chairman of the Diocesan Council of the Leningrad Metropolis;

from 1975 to 1998 — Member of the Central Committee and the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches;

(in November 1975, at the ecumenical assembly in Nairobi, he condemned the letter of Father Gleb Yakunin about the persecution of believers in the USSR and denied the facts of violation of the rights of believers).

from 1976 to 1978 - Deputy Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe;

from 1976 to 1984 - Member of the Holy Synod Commission on Christian Unity;

from 1978 to 1984 — administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in Finland;

from 1978 to 1984 - Deputy Chairman of the branch of the Department for External Church Relations in Leningrad;

from 1980 to 1988 - a member of the commission for the preparation and holding of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia;

in 1990 - a member of the commission for the preparation of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church;

in 1990 - a member of the commission to promote efforts to overcome the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;

from 1989 to 1996 - manager of the Orthodox Hungarian deanery;

from 1990 to 1991 - temporary administrator of the Hague-Netherlands diocese;

from 1990 to 1993 - temporary administrator of the Korsun diocese;

from 1990 to 1993 - Chairman of the commission of the Holy Synod for the revival of religious and moral education and charity;

from 1990 to 2000 - Chairman of the commission of the Holy Synod for the introduction of amendments to the Charter on the administration of the Russian Orthodox Church. The charter was adopted at the Jubilee Bishops' Council in 2000;

from 1994 to 2002 - Member of the Public Council for the revival of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow;

from 1994 to 1996 - Member of the Foreign Policy Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia;

from 1995 to 2000 - Chairman of the Synodal Working Group for the development of the Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of church-state relations and the problems of modern society as a whole;

from 1995 to 1999 - a member of the Russian Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of events in connection with the celebration of memorable dates of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945;

from 1996 to 2000 - Member of the Supervisory Board of the Foundation for the 50th Anniversary of the Victory.

By the time of his election to the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Kirill was:

permanent member of the Holy Synod (since 1989);

Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (since 1989);

Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Finland (since 1990);

member of the Patriarchal and Synodal Biblical Commission (since 1990);

co-chairman (since 1993) and deputy head (since 1995) of the World Russian People's Council, chairman of the Smolensk (since 1996) and Kaliningrad (since 1997) branches of the VRNS;

member of the Zemsky Movement Council (since 1993);

member of the Russian Palestinian Society;

Honorary President of the World Conference "Religion and Peace" (since 1994);

member of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation (since 1995);

member of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes in the field of literature and art (since 1995);

honorary member of the Moscow Intellectual and Business Club (since 1995);

co-chair of the Christian Interfaith Advisory Committee (since 1996);

member of the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia (since 1998);

editor-in-chief of the magazines "Church and Time" (since 1991), "Smolensk Diocesan Vedomosti" (since 1993), "Orthodox Pilgrim" (since 2001);

member of the Church Scientific Council for the publication of the "Orthodox Encyclopedia" (since 1999);

member of the Supervisory Board of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow (since 2002);

co-chair of the Council of European Religious Leaders (since 2002);

chairman of the organizing committee of the exhibition "Orthodox Russia" (since 2003);

co-chairman of the Working Group on interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (since 2003);

Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Interreligious Council of the CIS (since 2004);

Member of the Presidium of the CIS Interreligious Council (since 2004);

member of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation (since 2004);

Chairman of the Commission for Old Believer Parishes and Interaction with the Old Believers (since 2005);

Chairman of the working group to draw up a concept paper outlining the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of interreligious relations (since 2005);

Chairman of the working group for the preparation of a document expressing the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the problems of globalization (since 2005);

member of the Joint Commission on National Policy and Relations between the State and Religious Associations (since 2006);

co-chairman of the World Conference "Religions for Peace" (since 2006);

head of the working group for the development of the "Fundamentals of the teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church on dignity, freedom and human rights";

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill holds the following academic degrees and titles:

since 1986 - an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy;

since 1987 - honorary doctor of theology from the Theological Academy in Budapest;

since 1992 - member of the Academy of Creativity;

since 1994 - honorary member of the International Academy of Eurasia;

since 1996 - Honorary Professor of the Military Academy (now the University) of Air Defense of the Ground Forces;

since 1997 - full member of the Academy of Russian Literature;

since 2002 - full member of the Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities (since 2003 - Public Russian Academy of Social Sciences);

since 2002 - Honorary Doctorate in Political Science from the State University of Perugia (Italy);

since 2004 - Honorary Doctor of Theology of the Christian Academy of Warsaw (Poland);

since 2004 - Honorary Professor of the Smolensk Humanitarian University;

since 2005 - Honorary Professor of the Astrakhan University;

since 2005 - Honorary Doctor of the Russian State Social University;

since 2006 - Honorary Professor of the Baltic Naval Institute named after Admiral Fyodor Ushakov;

since 2007 - Honorary President of the Academy of Russian Literature;

since 2007 - Honorary Doctor of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University;

since 2009 - Honorary Doctor of Theology of the Kyiv Theological Academy;

since 2009 - honorary doctor of theology of the Institute of Theology. Sts. Methodius and Cyril of the Belarusian State University;

since 2009 - honorary doctor of theology of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy;

since 2009 - honorary member of the Russian Academy of Education;

since 2009 - Honorary Doctor of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation;

since 2010 — Honorary Doctor of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI;

since 2010 - Honorary Professor of the Military Academy of the Strategic Missile Forces named after Peter the Great;

since 2010 - Honorary Doctor of Petrozavodsk State University;

since 2010 - Honorary Doctor of Yerevan State University;

since 2010 - Honorary Doctor of the Odessa National Law Academy;

since 2010 - Honorary Doctor of the Dnipropetrovsk National University named after I.I. Oles Gonchar;

since 2010 - honorary doctor of theology of the Moscow Theological Academy;

since 2011 - honorary doctor of the Pridnestrovian State University named after. T.G. Shevchenko;

since 2011 - Honorary Doctor of Voronezh State University;

since 2011 - honorary doctor of the Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov;

since 2012 - Honorary Doctor of the Sofia University of Cultural Heritage;

since 2012 - Honorary Doctor of St. Tikhon Orthodox University for the Humanities.

As a metropolitan, he was invited to lecture in Rome (1972), at the University of Helsinki, at the Abu Academy in Turku, at the Orthodox Seminary in Kuopio (Finland, 1975), at the Ecumenical Institute in Bosse (Switzerland, 1972, 1973), to the University of Münster (Germany, 1988), to the University of Udine (Italy, 1988), to the State University of Perugia (Italy, 2002), to the Christian Academy of Warsaw (Poland, 2004) . He has made presentations at many Russian and foreign conferences, symposiums and forums.

The formation and development of the church hierarchy and the teaching of the Orthodox Church about its grace-filled character. - L .: 1971;

Challenges of modern civilization. How does the Orthodox Church respond to them? — M.: 2002;

Word of the Shepherd. God and man. Salvation history. — M.: 2004;

L'Evangile et la liberte. Les valeurs de la tradition dans la societe laique. — Paris: 2006;

Freedom and responsibility: in search of harmony. — M.: 2008;

Patriarch and youth: conversation without diplomacy. — M.: 2009;

Holy Russia - together or apart? Patriarch in Ukraine. — M.: 2009;

Vanguard of the Church. - Tver: 2009;

The words. Sermons. Performances. - Kyiv: 2009;

Be faithful to God. A book of conversations with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. - Minsk: 2009;

The strength of a nation is in the strength of the spirit. - Minsk: 2009;

The Church calls for unity. — Minsk: 2010;

Sermons 2009-2010. - Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2010;

Keep the faith in your hearts. — Minsk: 2011;

Sermons 2010-2011. - Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 2012;

The secret of repentance. Lenten Sermons (2001-2011). — M.: 2012;

Word of the Primate. Collection of works. Series I. Vol. 1 (2009-2011). — M.: 2012;

The word of the shepherd. Collection of works. Series II. T. 1 (1991-2011). — M.: 2013;

Overcoming embarrassment. // Series "The Word of His Holiness the Patriarch". - M .: 2013. - Issue. one;

The word of the shepherd. Collection of works. Series II. T. 2 (1991-2011). — M.: 2014;

Holy Land. // Series "The Word of His Holiness the Patriarch". - M .: 2014. - Issue. 2,

as well as about 2340 publications, including in domestic and foreign periodicals (data are given as of March 2013).

Series of TV programs with speeches by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill have been published: “The Word of the Shepherd” - An Introduction to the Orthodox Faith; "Word-Sacrament-Church" - The history of the early Christian Church and the doctrine of the Church; "Jubilee Council of Bishops" - Fundamentals of the social concept - The Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church - Acts on canonization, "Attitude towards heterodoxy"; "The Word of the Shepherd" - Church, state, politics (part 1), Church, personality, society (part 2), On faith and salvation (part 3), Does Russia have a future (part 4).

Dozens of video films dedicated to the life and work of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the election and enthronement of His Holiness, with recordings of divine services, sermons, meetings and live speeches, held during visits to Russian dioceses, to Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia and Armenia, as well as speeches by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on Russian television. Cycles of sermons of His Holiness and recordings of a number of meetings with young people have also been published on audio.

Interaction with Local Orthodox Churches

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has worked and is working in the field of inter-Orthodox relations. He was the first representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Syndesmos, the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth Organizations. From 1971 to 1977 - Member of the Executive Committee of "Syndesmos"; participant of VIII (Boston, 1971), IX (Geneva, 1977), X (Finland, 1980) and XIV (Moscow, 1992) General Assemblies of this organization; participant in the first Pre-Council Pan-Orthodox Conference (Chambesy, 1976) and the Inter-Orthodox Commission for the preparation of the Holy and Great Council of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Chambesy, 1993, 1999); main speaker at the Orthodox consultation "Common Understanding and Vision of the WCC" (Chambesy, 1995); participant of the Pan-Orthodox consultation on issues of ecumenism (Thessaloniki, 1998) and the Assembly of the Heads of the Local Orthodox Churches for the healing of the Bulgarian church schism (Sofia, 1998); participant of the Pan-Orthodox celebration of 2000 years of Christianity in Bethlehem on January 7, 2000; participant in negotiations between the Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates (Istanbul, 1977, Geneva, 1978, Istanbul 1990, Moscow, 1991, Istanbul, 1993) and regular consultations on current issues between the two Churches; conducted negotiations with the Orthodox Church of Constantinople on Estonia and with the Romanian Orthodox Church on the problem of the Bessarabian Metropolis in Moldova (twice in 1997 in Geneva, Chisinau, 1999).

In 2005, as head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he took part in the enthronement of Patriarch Theophilus III of Jerusalem.

As chairman of the DECR, as part of official delegations, he visited all the Local Orthodox Churches, including accompanying His Holiness Patriarch Pimen and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II on their trips abroad.

As Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, he officially visited the Local Orthodox Churches: Constantinople (2009), Alexandria (2010), Antioch (2011), Jerusalem (2012), Bulgarian (2012), Cypriot (2012) d.), Polish (2012), Hellas (2013).

Inter-Christian Relations and Cooperation

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill took part in the work of inter-Christian organizations. Participated as a delegate in IV (Uppsala, Sweden, 1968), V (Nairobi, Kenya, 1975), VI (Vancouver, Canada, 1983) and VII (Canberra, Australia, 1991) General Assemblies of the WCC and as a guest of honor at the IX General Assembly of the WCC (Porto Alegre, Brazil, 2006); at the Salvation Today World Missionary Conference (Bangkok, 1973); he was President of the World Conference "Faith, Science and the Future" (Boston, 1979) and the World Convocation "Peace, Justice and Integrity of Creation" (Seoul, 1990); participated in the assemblies of the commission "Faith and order" of the WCC in Accra (Ghana, 1974), in Lima (Peru, 1982), in Budapest (Hungary, 1989). He was the keynote speaker at the World Missionary Conference in San Salvador, Brazil in November 1996.

He was a delegate to the XI General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (Stirling, Scotland, 1986) and the XII General Assembly of the CEC (Prague, 1992), as well as one of the main speakers at the CEC European Assembly "Peace and Justice" (Basel, 6- May 21, 1989).

Participated in the Second European Assembly of the CEC in Graz, Austria (June 23-29, 1997) and the Third in Sibiu, Romania (September 5-9, 2007).

He was a participant in four rounds of bilateral discussions between theologians of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches (Leningrad, 1967, Bari, Italy, 1969, Zagorsk, 1972, Trento, Italy, 1975).

Since 1977 - Secretary of the International Technical Commission for the preparation of a dialogue between the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Since 1980, he has been a member of the International Theological Commission for Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue. In this capacity, he took part in four plenary meetings of this commission: (Patmos-Rhodes, Greece, 1980; Munich, Germany, 1982; Crete, 1984; Valaam, Finland, 1988) and in the work of its Coordinating committee.

He was co-chairman of the second round of the Orthodox-Reformed Dialogue (Debrecen II) in 1976 in Leningrad and a member of the Evangelical Kirchentags in Wittenberg (GDR, 1983) in Dortmund (1991) in Hamburg (1995).

Participant of the dialogue with the delegation of the Old Catholic Church in connection with the 100th anniversary of the Rotterdam-Petersburg Commission, Moscow, 1996

As chairman of the DECR, on behalf of the Hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, he took part in contacts with the Churches of the USA, Japan, East Germany, Germany, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Belgium, Holland, France, Spain, Norway, Iceland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ethiopia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Laos, Jamaica, Canada, Congo, Zaire, Argentina, Chile, Cyprus, China, South Africa, Greece.

Being the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, he held a number of meetings with the heads and representatives of non-Orthodox Churches and Christian organizations.

In 2012, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Chairman of the Polish Catholic Episcopal Conference signed a Joint Message to the peoples of Russia and Poland.

Participation in the Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church

He was a member of the Local Jubilee Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (June 1988, Zagorsk), chairman of its Editorial Committee and author of the draft Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted by the Jubilee Council.

He was a member of the Bishops' Council dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the restoration of the Patriarchate (October 1989) and the extraordinary Bishops' Council on January 30-31, 1990, as well as the Local Council on June 6-10, 1990, the Bishops' Councils on October 25-26, 1991. ; March 31 - April 4, 1992; June 11, 1992; November 29 - December 2, 1994; February 18-23, 1997; August 13-16, 2000; October 3-6, 2004, June 24-29, 2008

He presided over the Bishops' Councils (2009, 2011, 2013) and the Local Councils (2009), at the other Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church he was chairman of the Editorial Commission.

As the chairman of the DECR, he made reports on the work of the DECR. At the Jubilee Council in 2000, as chairman of the relevant Synodal Working Group and the Synodal Commission, he presented the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church.

At the Bishops' Council on October 3-6, 2004, he also delivered a report "On Relations with the Russian Church Abroad and the Old Believers."

Management of the Smolensk-Kaliningrad diocese (1984-2009)

During the stay of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Smolensk-Kaliningrad see, 166 parishes were opened (94 in Smolensk and the region, 72 in Kaliningrad and the region). 52 Orthodox churches have been restored and 71 have been rebuilt.

In 1989, the Smolensk Theological School was opened, which in 1995 was transformed into the Smolensk Theological Seminary.

Since 1998, the Interdiocesan Theological School has been operating, preparing church choir directors, catechists, icon painters and sisters of mercy. Most parishes in the diocese have Sunday schools. There are Orthodox gymnasiums and kindergartens.

Since 1992 the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture have been taught in public schools in the Smolensk and Kaliningrad regions.

Work as chairman of the DECR (1989-2009)

Represented the Russian Orthodox Church in commissions drafting the USSR Law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” of October 1, 1990, the Law of the RSFSR “On Freedom of Religion” of October 25, 1990, and the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” associations” dated September 26, 1997.

As chairman of the DECR, he took part in many international public and peacekeeping initiatives.

He took part in the development of a church position and peacekeeping actions during the events of August 1991 and October 1993.

He was one of the initiators of the creation of the World Russian People's Council in 1993. He took part and made keynote speeches at the Councils (1993-2008). Since his election to the Patriarchal Throne, he has been the Chairman of the VRNS (since 2009).

As chairman of the Commission of the Holy Synod for the revival of religious and moral education and charity, he initiated the creation of synodal departments for religious education, for social service and charity, for interaction with the armed forces and law enforcement agencies. He was the author of the Concept for the revival of charity and religious education, adopted by the Holy Synod on January 30, 1991.

Developed and submitted for approval by the Holy Synod "The concept of interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the armed forces" in 1994.

From 1996 to 2000 - supervised the development and presented to the Jubilee Bishops' Council in 2000 "Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church."

He took an active part in the normalization of the church situation in Estonia. In this regard, he visited the Antioch and Jerusalem Patriarchates (trips to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel in 1996), and also participated in negotiations with representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Zurich (Switzerland) in March and twice in April 1996. , in Thessaloniki, Tallinn and Athens (1996), in Odessa (1997), in Geneva (1998), in Moscow, Geneva and Zurich (2000), in Vienna, Berlin and Zurich (2001 .), in Moscow and Istanbul (2003); he also repeatedly visited Estonia, where he negotiated with representatives of the government, parliament deputies and with the business circles of this country.

He took an active part in peacekeeping actions in Yugoslavia. He repeatedly visited Belgrade during the war, negotiated with the leadership of this country, initiated the creation of an informal international Christian peacekeeping group on Yugoslavia (Vienna, May 1999) and the convening of an international inter-Christian conference on the topic: "Europe after the Kosovo crisis: further actions of the Churches" in Oslo (Norway) in November 1999.

He was the main speaker at the Parliamentary Hearings on "Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church" (Moscow, 2001), and the topics "Religion and Health" (Moscow, 2003), "Improvement of legislation on freedom of conscience and on religious organizations: application practice, problems and solutions” (Moscow, 2004).

He initiated a dialogue with European organizations in Brussels and the creation in 2002 of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in European international organizations.

As chairman of the DECR, he visited Estonia (repeatedly), Switzerland (repeatedly), France (repeatedly), Spain (repeatedly), Italy (repeatedly), Belgium (repeatedly), Holland (repeatedly), Germany (repeatedly), Israel (repeatedly), Finland (multiple times), Ukraine (multiple times), Japan (multiple times), Canada (multiple times), China (multiple times), Hungary (multiple times), Moldova (multiple times), Norway (multiple times), Lebanon and Syria (multiple times), Serbia (multiple times) ), USA (multiple times), Turkey (multiple times), Brazil (multiple times), Australia (1991), Austria (multiple times), Latvia (1992), Chile (1992), Bulgaria (1994, 1998, 2005 1996, 2004, 2007), Czech Republic (1996, 2004, 2007), Slovakia (1996), Iran (1996), Lithuania (1997), Denmark (1997), Morocco (1997), Argentina (1997, 2006), Mexico (1998), Panama (1998), Peru (1998), Cuba (1998, 2004, 2008), Luxembourg (1999), Nepal ( 2000), Slovenia (2001), Malta (2001), Tunisia (2001), Mongolia (2001) , Croatia (2001), Vietnam (2001), Kampuchea (2001), Thailand (2001), Ireland (2001), Iraq (2002), Liechtenstein (2002), Philippines (2002), special regions of the PRC - Hong Kong (2001, 2002), Macau (2002), South Africa (2003, 2008), Malaysia (2003), Indonesia (2003), Singapore (2003), UAE (2004), Poland (2004), Netherlands (2004), Dominican Republic (2004), Yemen (2005), North Korea (2006), India (2006), Romania (2007), Turkmenistan (2008), Costa Rica (2008), Venezuela (2008), Colombia (2008), Ecuador (2008), Angola (2008), Namibia (2008). He visited Hungary, Mongolia, Slovenia, Iran, Iraq and Yemen on official visits at the invitation of the governments of these countries.

Patriarchal Ministry. Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church

In 2009, a reform of the central organs of church administration was undertaken. The activities of the Administrative Department of the Moscow Patriarchate have been fundamentally reorganized, the scope of activities of the Department for External Church Relations has been clarified, new synodal departments have been created, the functions of the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate have been separated, analytical work has been carried out to formulate the necessary changes in the structure of the Educational Committee under the Holy Synod and in general in the system of spiritual education. The activities of the General Church Court have been activated.

In 2010, the charter of the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service was updated, the powers and structures of the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Synodal Commission for Monasteries were clarified, the Secretariat for Institutions Abroad was transformed into the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate. The activities of the Metropolitan District in the Republic of Kazakhstan were activated: its Charter and Internal Regulations were adopted, new dioceses were formed in this country.

In 2011, the Central Asian metropolitan district was formed. A number of documents on social, missionary work, religious-educational and catechetical service in the Russian Orthodox Church have been adopted. The meeting of the heads of synodal institutions was transformed into the Supreme Church Council with the subordination of this body to the Patriarch and the Holy Synod. To coordinate the activities of the dioceses located in the same subject of the Russian Federation, metropolises were formed. Vicariates have been created in the Moscow diocese.

In 2012-2013 the formation of metropolises continues, the increase in the number of bishops and dioceses. The implementation of the instructions of the Bishops' Councils of 2011 and 2013 is being monitored. Based on the adopted documents on social, missionary, youth work, religious, educational and catechetical service in the Russian Orthodox Church, a detailed database of documents was developed, as well as partially provisions regulating the special training of ministers in these areas. There is a spread of transformations from the central apparatus of the Church to the level of dioceses. The subject "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is included in the curriculum of secondary schools in all regions of Russia.

During the Patriarchal service formed:

— Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church (2009)

— Organs of the church executive power:

Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (2011)

Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society (2009)

Synodal Information Department (2009)

Financial and Economic Department (2009)

Synodal Committee for Interaction with the Cossacks (2010)

Synodal Department for Prison Ministry (2010)

Patriarchal Council for Culture (2010)

Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism (2012), transformed from the Synodal Commission for Monasteries (2010)

— All-church collegiate bodies:

Patriarchal Commission for Family and Motherhood Protection (2012), formerly Patriarchal Council for Family and Motherhood Protection (2011)

– Church-wide postgraduate and doctoral studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius Equal-to-the-Apostles (2009)

– Interdepartmental Coordinating Group for Teaching Theology in Universities (2012)

- Church-Public Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for the perpetuation of the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church (2013), former name - Church-Public Council for the perpetuation of the memory of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia (2012)

As the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, in 2009-2013. visited countries: Azerbaijan (2009, 2010), Armenia (2010, 2011), Belarus (2009, 2012, 2013), Bulgaria (2012), Greece (2013 d) Egypt (2010), Israel (2012), Jordan (2012), Kazakhstan (2010, 2012), Cyprus (2012), China (2013), Lebanon (2011), Moldova (2011, 2013), Palestinian Authority (2012), Poland (2012), Syria (2011), Serbia (2013), Turkey (2009) .), Ukraine (2009, 2010 - 3 times, 2011 - 5 times, 2012, 2013), Montenegro (2013), Estonia (2013), Japan (2012 .).

By February 2014, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill made 124 trips to 67 dioceses, 156 trips to 26 stauropegial monasteries, in 21 of them repeatedly. He visited 7 courtyards of stavropegic monasteries. Made 432 visits to 105 churches in Moscow (data as of January 31, 2014).

During the service of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill formed:

46 metropolias of the Russian Orthodox Church;

113 dioceses, including 95 dioceses in Russia*;

Central Asian metropolitan district (2011);

vicariates in the Moscow diocese (2011).

The number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church increased from 159 at the beginning of 2009 to 273 at the beginning of 2014 (from 69 to 164 in Russia).

At the beginning of 2009, there were 200 bishops in the Russian Orthodox Church, at the beginning of 2014 - 312 (as of February 1, 2014).

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill headed 109 episcopal consecrations, including: in 2009 - 5; in 2010 - 9; in 2011 - 31; in 2012 - 41; in 2013 - 22; in 2014 - 1 (as of February 1, 2014).

Also, over the 5 years of his Patriarchal service, he performed 144 ordinations to the deacon and presbyter (18 to the deacon and 126 to the presbyter)*.

Awards of the Russian Orthodox Church

Church-wide awards

1973 - Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir (II degree)

1986 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh (II degree)

1996 - Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow (I degree)

2001 - Order of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna (II degree)

2004 - Order of St. Sergius of Radonezh (I degree)

2006 - Order of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia (II degree)

Orders of Self-Governing and Autonomous Churches of the Russian Orthodox Church

2006 - Order of St. Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves (I degree) (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)

2006 - Order "Blessed Voivode Stefan the Great and Saint" (II degree) (Orthodox Church of Moldova)

2009 - Order of Hieromartyr Isidore Yuryevsky (I degree) (Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate)

2009 - Order in honor of the 450th anniversary of the bringing to the land of Volyn Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)

2011 - Order of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)

Awards of the Local Orthodox Churches

2007 - Order of St. Savva the Sanctified (II degree) (Alexandria Orthodox Church)

2009 - St. Innocent Gold Medal (Orthodox Church in America)

2010 - Commemorative medal of the St. Vladimir Theological Seminary (Orthodox Church in America)

2010 - Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark (Alexandrian Orthodox Church)

2011 - Order of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (I degree) (Antioch Orthodox Church)

2012 - Order of the Holy Tsar Boris (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)

2012 - Golden Order of the Apostle Barnabas (Cypriot Orthodox Church)

2012 - Order of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene (I degree) (Polish Orthodox Church)

2012 - Order of the Life-Giving Sepulcher "Grand Cross of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulcher" (Jerusalem Orthodox Church)

Awards from other religious organizations and Christian denominations

2006 - Order of St. Gregory of Parumalsky (Malankara Church, India)

2010 - Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian Apostolic Church)

2011 - Order "Sheikh-ul-Islam" (Office of Muslims of the Caucasus)

2012 - Order for services to the Ummah, I degree (Coordination Center for Muslims of the North Caucasus)

State awards of the Russian Federation

1988 - Order of Friendship of Peoples

1995 - Order of Friendship

1996 - Anniversary medal "300 years of the Russian Navy"

1997 - Medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow"

2001 - Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (III degree)

2006 - Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" (II degree)

2011 - Order of Alexander Nevsky

He was also awarded the medals "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow" and "300th Anniversary of the Russian Fleet".

State awards of foreign states

2009 - Order of Friendship of Peoples (Republic of Belarus)

2010 - Medal "65 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" (Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic)

2010 - Order "Sharaf" (Republic of Azerbaijan)

2011 - Order of the Republic ("OrdinulRepublicii") (Republic of Moldova)

2011 - Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots (Republic of Armenia)

2012 - Order of the Star of Bethlehem (Palestinian National Authority)

The departmental and public insignia possessed by Metropolitan Kirill testify to the great "secular" attention to this religious figure. In particular, he was awarded:

Medal of the Soviet Peace Fund (1988);

Certificate certifying participation in a test flight on the MIG-29 aircraft and a watch from the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation; medal and commemorative sign of the Department for the Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia; certificate of honor of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation (all - 1999);

Medal "150th Anniversary of the Formation of the Trans-Baikal Cossack Army" (2001);

Medal "200 years of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia"; insignia of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "Chief Marshal of Artillery Nedelin", departmental medal of the Railway Troops of the Russian Federation "For Distinction in Service" (2002);

Order "For Merit in the Development of the Olympic Movement in Russia" from the executive committee of the Russian Olympic Committee; Order of Kuzbass "Key of Friendship"; Order of the World Sambo Federation; badge "300 years of the Baltic Fleet" (2003);

Order of M.V. Lomonosov and the Order of Peter the Great, I degree ("for outstanding services and great personal contribution to the development and strengthening of the Russian State") from the Russian Academy of Security, Defense and Law and Order; medal named after Marshal of Aviation, three times Hero of the Soviet Union I. N. Kozhedub from the Fund for Assistance to Aviators and Cosmonauts, the General Staff of the Russian Air Force, the Federation of Cosmonautics of Russia, the Association of Heroes of the Soviet Union; badge of honor "For contribution to international cooperation" of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; insignia "For impeccable service to the city of Moscow. 20 years" of the administration of Moscow (2004);

Medal of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation "300 years of the Baltic Fleet"; award cross "Holy Righteous Theodore Ushakov - Admiral of the Russian Fleet" II degree for long-term service, conscientious activity in the revival of the Cossacks (2005);

Badge of honor "Submariner of the Navy"; The gold medal of Academician A.N. Bakulev is the highest award of the Scientific Center for Cardiovascular Surgery named after A.N. A. N. Bakuleva RAMS; medal "For merits in strengthening international security" of the Security Council of the Russian Federation; title of hereditary nobleman - from the head of the Russian Imperial House Vel. Book. Maria Vladimirovna (2006);

Honorary badge and certificate of honor "For merits in the development of the Dynamo movement"; silver medal of the St. Petersburg Society for the Protection of Russian Culture "From Understanding to Unity"; diploma "For real spiritual help to talented children" from the All-Russian public movement "Gifted children - the future of Russia"; medal "60th Anniversary of the Miner's Day" from the administration of the Kemerovo region (2007).

This is not a complete list of non-church insignia received by Metropolitan Kirill over the past 20 years. Moreover, the wave of awards grew as rumors intensified that it was Kirill who would become the successor to Alexy II.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was also awarded a number of other federal, departmental and regional state awards; has more than 120 awards from Russian and foreign public organizations; is an honorary citizen of the cities of Smolensk, Kaliningrad, Neman (Kaliningrad region), Murom (Vladimir region), Smolensk, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo regions, the Republic of Mordovia and other regions and settlements of the Russian Federation.

He was the first of the church hierarchs to enter into a dialogue with the media. One of the topics he constantly raised at that time was the need for the democratization of the Church, its greater openness to society. Metropolitan Kirill became the creator and host of the weekly television program "The Shepherd's Word" (TV channel ORT), which has been coming out since the early 2000s, and took part in the creation of a number of other religious and educational television programs.

It was he who was the first in the Russian Orthodox Church to begin to build new relations with the secular authorities in all its guises. In 1994-1996 was a member of the Foreign Policy Council of the Russian Foreign Ministry. He also came up with the idea of ​​organizing a department for interaction with the Ministry of Defense and law enforcement agencies in the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1994, Vladyka Kirill developed and submitted for approval by the Holy Synod a "Concept of Interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Armed Forces." Among the many academic degrees and titles of the Metropolitan, there are also the following: Honorary Professor of the Military Academy (now the University) of Air Defense of the Ground Forces, full member of the Academy of Security and Law Enforcement of the Russian Federation, Honorary Professor of the Baltic Naval Institute named after Admiral Fyodor Ushakov.

He established himself as a successful lobbyist for church interests. One of the striking results of this lobbying policy was the adoption in 1997 of a new law "On freedom of conscience." Others - customs benefits, which the metropolitan managed to achieve in the first half of the 90s. This allowed the ROC for a long time with great profit to trade in alcohol and tobacco received in the form of humanitarian aid. True, then a loud scandal broke out in the press over the Church's tobacco and alcohol trade, and the benefits were eliminated.

Among the main intra-church "organizational" achievements of Metropolitan Kirill are the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on the terms that were formulated by the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, as well as the rapid growth in the number of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in the far abroad.

The head of the DECR is known as a principled "statist" and a promoter of the idea of ​​the Church's active participation in solving the problems facing society. For four years he developed the "Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church" and, after the approval of the "Foundations" by the Council of Bishops, initiated Parliamentary hearings dedicated to this document (2001). In 2003 he was the main speaker at another "social" Parliamentary hearing - "Religion and Health".

For many years he has been consistently pursuing the idea that Orthodoxy, as the largest denomination in Russia, should become the state religion.

On his initiative, in 1993, the World Russian People's Council was created. It was planned that he would oppose the then rising wave of obscurantist nationalism with a more civilized statehood. True, the idea was not crowned with great success. The liberals criticized the Council for an openly nationalistic bias, the nationalists for insufficient nationalism, and no historic decisions were made at the Council.

In June 2008, the Council of Bishops adopted the Fundamentals of the Teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church on Dignity, Freedom and Human Rights, developed under the leadership of Metropolitan Kirill.

According to the Fundamentals, it is recognized as "an inadmissible and dangerous interpretation of human rights as the highest and universal foundation of social life, to which religious views and practices must obey." In addition, the ROC "sees a great danger in the legislative and public support for various vices - for example, sexual promiscuity and perversion, the cult of profit and violence." Absolutely practical conclusions were drawn from this thesis in the Fundamentals: "... it is unacceptable to normalize immoral and inhumane actions in relation to a person, such as abortion, euthanasia, the use of human embryos in medicine, experiments that change human nature, and the like" . "No references to freedom of speech and creativity can justify outrage in the public sphere over objects, symbols or concepts that are revered by believers," the document also says.

The proclamation of the supremacy of "religious views and practices" over human rights provoked loud protests from human rights activists. After that, the deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, had to explain himself to the press. "We cannot and should not impose on the secular world the understanding of human rights that exists in the Church, but we offer this understanding for discussion," he said conciliatoryly at a press conference.

In May 1992, the American ROCOR priest Fr. Victor Potapov, in his pamphlet God Surrenders to Silence, for the first time publicly accused Kirill of direct cooperation in Soviet times with the KGB and named his operational pseudonym - "Mikhailov" ("At a meeting of students of Moscow State University, the head of the department Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad (aka Mikhailov's agent) declared that the fact of the meeting of the clergy with representatives of the KGB was "morally indifferent" (Bulletin "The Straight Way", N 1-2, 1992)").

In September 1996, the Moscow News newspaper (N34) published a report that the DECR, headed by Metropolitan Kirill, in 1994-96. organized in 1994-96 the importation of excisable goods (primarily cigarettes) bypassing customs duties, under the guise of humanitarian aid, in the amount of tens of millions of dollars and in the amount of tens of thousands of tons. The accusations were supported by other popular secular newspapers (in particular, "Moskovsky Komsomolets" - journalist Sergei Bychkov). It is believed that the unspoken initiator of these accusations was the then head of the affairs of the MP, Archbishop Sergius of Solnechnogorsk (Fomin). To investigate these reports, an intra-church commission headed by Archbishop Sergius (Fomin) was created.

However, the position of Metropolitan Kirill, who denied the deliberate importation of cigarettes into the country and said that the church could not refuse the gift imposed on it, was supported by the 1997 Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Actively participated in the preparation of the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations", approved by President Yeltsin on September 26, 1997.

In March 2001, he proposed to transfer part of the income tax of Russians to the budget of religious organizations, including the Russian Orthodox Church.

In May 2001, the journalist of "Moskovsky Komsomolets" Sergey Bychkov published an article "Metropolitan from the snuffbox", in which he repeated the previous accusations against Metropolitan Kirill regarding the import of tobacco, and also for the first time publicly identified Kirill with the figure of the All-Union Church "agent Mikhailov", mentioned earlier published materials of the commission of the Supreme Council ("the Yakunin-Ponomarev commission") on the relations between the KGB and the Russian Orthodox Church in the Soviet era.

Sergey Bychkov:

In 1992, the Council of Bishops formed its own commission, headed by Bishop Alexander of Kostroma and Galich. While the priest Gleb Yakunin and Lev Ponomarev, then deputies of the Supreme Council, sorted out nicknames and tasks, Vladyka Gundyaev (nickname - agent Mikhailov) showed remarkable ingenuity and began to buy archival documents. Having concentrated a powerful base of compromising evidence, including on the patriarch, for the past 10 years he has been deftly manipulating documents, shutting up overly zealous bishops. When the patriarch tries to reason with him, all of a sudden, some papers get into the media that stain the reputation of His Holiness. Unfortunately, the work of the deputy commission ended in nothing. And the synodal did not start work at all.

http://www.mk.ru/blogs/idmk/2001/05/25/mk-daily/34819/

In 1992, a former KGB officer named Shushpanov admitted that most of the employees of the Department for External Church Relations were agents, and were required to report on contacts with foreigners, both in the country and abroad.

In 2003, Priest Yuri Edelstein, a member of the Moscow Helsinki Group, sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he also accused Metropolitan Kirill of having links with the KGB.

According to Novaya Gazeta, the import of tobacco products was carried out by the Nika financial and trading group, whose vice-president was Archpriest Vladimir Veriga, commercial director of the Department for External Church Relations, which was led by Kirill. According to the newspaper, Sergei Bychkov published a number of articles about this commercial activity.

According to The New Times:

“In 1996, the DECR, through its Nika Foundation, under the guise of humanitarian aid (without customs duties), imported more than 8 billion cigarettes into Russia, ousting importers who paid duties from the market. This story was first dug up by a soon closed and forgotten small business newspaper, and then there was a whole wave of publications in Moskovsky Komsomolets and Moskovskie Novosti.
Actually, the tobacco kings began the first campaign of exposing, as they believed, an unscrupulous competitor. On nicotine, then the media and evil tongues in the Church itself claimed, Cyril made up the starting capital - several hundred million dollars, after which financial scandals poured on him like from a cornucopia. He was involved in the duty-free export of oil, the catching of king crab, the extraction of Ural gems, the establishment of banks, the purchase of shares and real estate. Specific (with a hint of "pastorship") connections in the political leadership and the business community quickly brought Kirill to the first place in terms of personal assets among the hierarchs of the ROC MP. In 2004, Nikolai Mitrokhin, a researcher at the Center for Shadow Economy Research at the Russian State Humanitarian University, published a monograph on the shadow economic activity of the Russian Orthodox Church. The fortune of Metropolitan Kirill was estimated in this work at $ 1.5 billion. After 2 years, the journalists of Moskovskie Novosti tried to count the assets of the head of the Church Foreign Ministry and came to the conclusion that they already totaled $ 4 billion. Neither the metropolitan himself nor the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church commented on these data ".

Metropolitan Kirill, indirectly acknowledging the fact of import transactions on behalf of the DECR, repeatedly denied accusations of personal interest; during an online conversation with the public, he called such publications “a very specific political order”, which is being worked out “with persistence worthy of other use”, and “not newspapers, but one newspaper” write about it. He noted that “unfortunately, in our society it is very common to use the press to settle personal scores or achieve political, career and other goals. In this case, we are dealing with a custom campaign aimed at achieving at least one or two of the above goals.

Alexander Pochinok, who was the head of the tax service of Russia in 1999-2000, on the eve of the Local Council in 2009, said:

“... the government decided to help by allocating quotas for the import of excisable goods to the ROC, providing the appropriate permission through the government commission for humanitarian assistance for their import. At the same time, the Russian Orthodox Church - more precisely, companies close to it - were exempted from paying customs duties. All this ended sadly for everyone – both for those importers, because many of them suffered, and for the budget.”

Hobby - mountain skiing.

Lives in the official residence of the DECR in Serebryany Bor (Moscow).

In 2002, he bought a penthouse in the House on the Embankment overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (the apartment is registered to Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, "about which there is a corresponding entry in the cadastral register" (The New Times. No. 50 of December 15, 2008). Appeared in the media" information about the Metropolitan's purchase of a villa in Switzerland." (ibid.).

At the beginning of 2012, the situation around the court case on compensation for damage to an apartment owned by the patriarch, the defendant in which was Yury Shevchenko, who lived next door, received a wide public outcry. According to the position of the plaintiff Lidia Leonova, registered and living in the patriarch’s apartment, and the court’s decision, based on the examination performed by the experts of the IGIC, the dust from repairs in Shevchenko’s apartment contained components hazardous to health, including nanoparticles, and caused damage to the patriarch’s apartment, furniture and a collection of almost 1600 books. The total amount of the claim amounted to about 19.7 million rubles. The amount of the claim and the unclear status of Leonova caused numerous critical discussions in the media and the blogosphere. In a conversation with journalist V. Solovyov, the patriarch explained that he had nothing to do with the lawsuit filed by his second cousin Leonova, who was registered in the patriarch's apartment. At the same time, Kirill assured the journalist Solovyov that the money that ex-Minister of Health Shevchenko paid to Leonova at the suit would be used to clean up the library and charity.

According to Saken Aimurzaev, a journalist from the Ekho Moskvy radio station, who repeated a number of publications, the very fact of owning an apartment is in conflict with the vow of non-possession, which every monk takes during tonsure. Lawyers interviewed by Rosbalt news agency (Vladimir Zherebyonkov, Maxim Stolyarov, Igor Trunov) confirmed that, in their opinion, for the first time in Russian practice, pollution of an apartment with nanoparticles was declared the basis for compensation for damage, and also announced an unprecedented amount recovered for causing damage to one apartment. According to Trunov, there was a court bias, and according to Zherebyonkov, perhaps elements of lobbying. Lawyers interviewed by RAPSI expressed different opinions on the amount of the claim and do not point to lobbyism: lawyer Konstantin Trapaidze believes that the plaintiff won the court justifiably, as she was well prepared for the upcoming trial. Lawyer Natalya Salnikova called the amount colossal, but justified, since the incident damaged antique furniture and valuable property, and lawyer Oleg Frolov suggested that the cost of the apartment and the items in it could determine the high price of damage.

In response to criticism in connection with this, as well as a number of other scandalous cases, the Moscow Patriarchate, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and some politicians announced an organized campaign to discredit the Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Kirill himself, on June 16, 2012, on the air of the program “Word of the Shepherd” on Channel One called people “who criticize the church” “requiring spiritual healing.”

Dossier

CONDUCTOR OF THE SYMPHONY OF POWER
At the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at the end of last year, it can be said that the question of the next patriarch was finally decided. The church "vertical of power" is already subordinate to Metropolitan Kirill. Who is he - the next most likely primate of the Russian Orthodox Church?

The image of Metropolitan Kirill is very contradictory, and it is impossible to choose any one color for him. Cyril's inconsistency is not the fruit of his complex character and peculiarities of his worldview - several historical epochs have ground the bright and strong personality of the metropolitan in their millstones.

On the one hand, Cyril is the most scandalous figure in the Russian Orthodox Church in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. On the other hand, his authority is recognized, or at least his power and authority are considered by everyone in the Church: liberals, conservatives, modernists, and orthodox. His “weaknesses” are found with “high” justifications: for example, his passion for business, which until recently shocked the church community, is now declared the only way to preserve the independence of the Church in the context of building a rigid “vertical of power” that seeks to embrace and subjugate all public institutions modern Russia. However, it is not only Kirill's flock that shows flexibility - the metropolitan himself is constantly "rebuilding on the march": he is now a zealous ecumenist, now an outspoken fighter against globalization; now a liberal Westerner, now a leavened patriot-soiler; either a supporter of Voloshin and the oligarchs, or a confessor of the “siloviki”. Almost according to the word of the Apostle Paul, he tries to “be everything to everyone”, but not in order to “save at least some”, but in order to be unsinkable with any changes in the “environment parameters”. Someone will say that this is normal: the Church must survive in any conditions, because, according to the word of Christ, she will remain "until the end of time." Some will see in Cyril's flexibility the apotheosis of Sergianism - a policy of boundless ecclesiastical opportunism and conformism, which guarantees the preservation of legal church administration even under the reign of the Antichrist.

Who is this man - sharp, impulsive, passionate, but dressed in a cassock and a monastic hood? How is Metropolitan Kirill useful and dangerous to the Church and secular society? Is he really the only candidate for the patriarchal throne?

Volodya Gundyaev - that was his name in a short worldly life - was born under late Stalinism and grew up during the "thaw" in the family of a priest. True, his parent - Fr. Michael - was not rich and often fell into disgrace with his church authorities. Despite this, he was a staunch Sergian: he believed that the Church must be saved at any cost and that the hierarchs had no other way but to resignedly submit to "godless power." This line of the father caused young Volodya to be rejected - the choleric temperament, multiplied by constant clashes with "militant atheism" at school, led to the fact that Volodya was not taken to the 9th grade of high school, and he got a job in a geological expedition.

At that time, a bright star rose in the ecclesiastical horizon of Leningrad, which illuminated the whole further life path of a believing young man - Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​who made a sparkling ecclesiastical career in a few years and occupied key church positions by the middle of the fourth decade of his life. Subsequently - albeit not so quickly - Kirill himself will repeat the path of his teacher. In one of his interviews, he will share his memories of how at first he met Nikodim's appointment with hostility, seeing in the successful church careerist an obvious protege of the authorities. Who would have known that from the radical rejection of Nicodemus to enthusiastic admiration for him, the young man was only one step away. Volodya made it, crossing the threshold of Nikodim's office in 1965 in order to receive his blessing to enter the seminary. Nicodemus was very sensitive to talents and immediately brought Volodya closer to him, who, thanks to this, completed an eight-year seminary and academy course in less than five years.

At the age of 21, he accepts monasticism from the hands of Nicodemus with the name Cyril and becomes a hieromonk. At the same time, his “external church activity” begins - in the retinue of Nikodim, he leaves for Prague. At the age of 23, Kirill graduated from the academy, became a candidate of theology and began teaching dogmatics to students who were older than him. At the age of 24, he was already an archimandrite and representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the World Council of Churches in Geneva (this position was held before him by the venerable Protopresbyter Vitaly Borovoy). At the age of 27, Kirill was returned to St. Petersburg and made rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy - the youngest in the entire 200-year history of this educational institution. Joining the Soviet elite, the "beautiful life", constant trips abroad corrected that simultaneously romantic and ascetic ideal, which young Volodya probably aspired to when he became a monk. None of his official biographies will ever include the story of his acquaintance with Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova, the young and pretty daughter of the cook of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU. For 30 years now, they have had the warmest relations, which, by the way, gave rise to some Western journalists who are poorly versed in Orthodox canons to call Vladyka Kirill an "exemplary family man." They say that now a number of commercial enterprises are registered at the home address of Lidia Mikhailovna in Smolensk, one way or another connected with the business of the metropolitan himself.

At the age of 29, Kirill becomes Bishop of Vyborg, although according to Orthodox canons, even the rank of priest can only be obtained at 30. The next year he is elevated to the rank of archbishop, in parallel he holds many various posts in international religious organizations. What confidence the party and the government had to have in the middle of the Brezhnev 70s in order to reach such heights and almost continuously travel abroad and even to the “countries of capital”! The first reports to the KGB dated to that period, signed with the pseudonym "Mikhailov", which, as the parliamentary commission of Yakunin - Ponomarev found out, was taken by Bishop Kirill, thus perpetuating the name of his parent Fr. Michael.

But here there was a thunder from a clear sky. Under mysterious circumstances, at the hands of Pope John Paul I (who ruled for only a month and also mysteriously died), Metropolitan Nikodim, still relatively young, dies. The career rise of Archbishop Kirill slowed down slightly, and in 1984 he was transferred to the provincial Smolensk cathedra. Formally, he still occupies it, although, of course, he spends much more time in Moscow and on all sorts of foreign trips.

The administrative revolution initiated by Metropolitan Kirill last year is directly related to the illness of Patriarch Alexy II, this illness was its indispensable condition. In the fall of 2002, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, stricken with a mysterious illness, was forced to retire for a long time. Within nine months, the unsteady "system of checks and balances" in the highest church administration, which he created in the early 1990s, collapsed. The mystery of the patriarchal illness will only intensify if we remember that the gradual replacement of important departments of the Russian Orthodox Church by the people of Metropolitan Kirill began just on the eve of this illness.

But even a year ago, in January 2003, when the patriarch had not appeared in public for three months, in addition to Cyril, Metropolitans Sergius (Fomin) and Methodius (Nemtsov) were predicted to be his successors. Moreover, it was believed that their chances were approximately equal. Sergius held the key position of managing director of the patriarchate, and Methodius headed the richest - the Voronezh - diocese, led a number of church projects in Moscow and was a member of the Presidential Administration. It is not yet known for certain what political and administrative levers Metropolitan Kirill used from January to May, but already at the first meeting of the Synod, which was headed by the recovering patriarch, on May 7, a completely sensational decision was made: to release Metropolitan Methodius from the administration of the Voronezh diocese and from all positions in Moscow and sent to distant Kazakhstan, and appoint Metropolitan Sergius to the place of Methodius, to Voronezh, having previously separated from the Voronezh diocese its main financial appendage - the Lipetsk region. So, overnight, Methodius lost a real chance to become a patriarch, and Sergius was removed from Moscow and deprived of a financial base, which also significantly weakened his position. However, the final move of this personnel gambit was yet to come: at a meeting of the Synod on December 26, Sergius was relieved of the post of head of the patriarchate, which was taken by Kirill's long-term first deputy.

Only the commercial activity of Metropolitan Kirill formed his scandalous reputation in the media. The corresponding talents of the hierarch were discovered in the early 90s, at the dawn of market reforms in Russia. However, his business reached a serious level only by 1994. Through his department, the metropolitan became the founder of the Peresvet commercial bank, the Nika charitable foundation, International Economic Cooperation JSC (MES), Free People's Television JSC (SNT) and a number of other structures. "Nika", which was originally created by Sergiy, after coming under the control of Kirill, began to actively trade in cigarettes imported into Russia by the DECR MP under the guise of humanitarian aid and therefore exempt from customs duties. Metropolitan Kirill's tobacco business had reached absolutely ugly proportions, so it was impossible to avoid a scandal. In just 8 months of 1996, the DECR MP imported into Russia about 8 billion duty-free cigarettes (these data were made public by the Commission of the Government of the Russian Federation on International Humanitarian and Technical Assistance), which accounted for 10% of the tobacco market and brought in a profit of several hundred million dollars. Cyril was “surrendered”, in all likelihood, by alarmed competitors, to whom the Metropolitan, who suddenly entered the market on a white horse of duty-free trade, confused all the cards.

When the "tobacco scandal" broke out in full force, Kirill tried to shift the responsibility to the government. In an interview, he said: “The people who were doing this (that is, Kirill himself and his wards - Archbishop Clement and Archpriest Vladimir Veriga. - A.S.) did not know what to do: burn these cigarettes or send them back? We appealed to the government, and it made a decision: recognize it as a humanitarian cargo and provide an opportunity to implement it.” The government, of course, was offended by Kirill, because it was he who convinced the authorities of the “humanitarian” nature of the deadly product, and not vice versa, which there is a lot of documentary evidence. But the metropolitan had already realized that he would have to do away with the tobacco business, and therefore did not particularly care about his reputation in tobacco circles.

Oil has become a new and more promising business - this time, of course, not imports, but exports. Close to Metropolitan Kirill, Bishop Viktor (Pyankov), who has now moved to the United States, was a member of the Board of Directors of JSC MES, which in the mid-90s exported several million tons of oil a year from Russia. The company's annual turnover was about $2 billion. At times, the MES was forced to act under the guise of the patriarch himself, whose signature on petitions to the government to exempt hundreds of thousands of tons of export oil from duties, apparently, was worth a lot, given the volume of financial flows in this business.

Any business of Kirill began with an appeal to the authorities - sometimes signed by the patriarch - which spoke of "destroyed" churches and some abstract "revival programs" that needed tax benefits, customs duties, etc. .P. The metropolitan's attempt to penetrate the market of marine bioresources belongs to the category of curiosities - in 2000, the relevant government structures allocated huge quotas for catching king crab and shrimp to the company established by Kirill (JSC "Region") (total volume - more than 4 thousand tons). The profit from this enterprise is estimated at 17 million dollars. Crab meat went mainly to the United States, since half of the company's shares belonged to American partners. Now, in his interviews, Metropolitan Kirill, with an ironic grin, talks about how his ill-wishers were so distraught that they even tried to accuse him of trying to destroy several valuable species of crab. The breadth of the “commercial interests” of the hierarch is evidenced by his participation in an automobile joint venture in Kaliningrad, in a cheese factory in the Ryazan region, in the creation of a supermarket on the outskirts of Moscow ... In addition to the already mentioned Archbishop Kliment and Archpriest Vladimir, Kirill’s close-knit business team includes and other people: for example, a former KGB general who personally heads a number of affiliated commercial structures.

Kirill even tried to create his own influential media, but Free People's Television, which claimed an 11-decimeter channel in Moscow, owed a lot of money, sunk into oblivion, never appearing on the air. At the very least, the "Orthodox Information Television Agency" is working, which releases the program "The Pastor's Word" on Saturdays and distributes it on video cassettes.

Meanwhile, in the foreign policy of our church, for which Cyril is responsible, far from everything is good. Church policy failed in Estonia, where half of the parishes went to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in Ukraine, where the Moscow Patriarchate is being squeezed by Greek Catholics and Orthodox independentists, in Abkhazia, which found itself between the Georgian and Russian churches in an “ownerless” position, in the far abroad. The most striking church foreign policy project of the past year - the unification of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Russian Church Abroad - was developed, and in part implemented, by no means by Metropolitan Kirill, but by Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov), who is called the unofficial confessor of President Putin.

Under Metropolitan Kirill, a radical rethinking of the role of the DECR in church life took place. Previously, it was believed that this Department should deal only with relations with foreign countries. According to the metropolitan, "external relations" are generally all contacts of the ROC with the outside world: political, economic, cultural. When some forces came up with the initiative to create a Ministry of Religious Affairs, Kirill began an uncompromising struggle against this idea. Following a tradition dating back to Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) and based on Catholic experience, Kirill believes that secular and ecclesiastical authorities should have approximately the same weight in society and respect each other's interests. The ideological substantiation of this theory of the “new symphony of authorities” is the doctrine developed by Kirill of “Orthodox by birth”, which supposedly includes 85-90% of the country's population. The essence of the theory is that a person may not go to church, not believe in God, be unbaptized, but because he is Russian or even because he was born in an "Orthodox cultural environment", he is "Orthodox by birth", that is, regardless of of their convictions, but only for some genetic and demographic reasons "assigned" to the ROC. One far-reaching conclusion follows from this essentially materialistic doctrine. I will cite it in the version of Kirill himself: “We should generally forget this common term: “multi-confessional country”. Russia is an Orthodox country with national and religious minorities.” The Constitution rests!

The teaching of Metropolitan Kirill is the theory of “the priesthood is higher than the kingdom”, set forth in the materialistic language of modernity, which was preached by Patriarch Nikon to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. And if Kirill is destined to become a patriarch, then the current acting tsar will also have to hear a lot of interesting things: and that the Constitution is a fiction; and that the Russian state was created by the Russian Orthodox Church, the head of which should be its co-ruler; and that the Church is completely economically independent of the state, and therefore may not particularly take into account the "royal will." Such is the political ideal of Metropolitan Kirill. It seems that this ideal is aimed at strengthening the Russian state, but in reality it turns out that its goal is a new redistribution of power (and the resources behind it).

Does modern Russia need all this?

Alexander SOLDATOV, ogoniok.com

On the website of the Russian Orthodox Church, the photo with the clock of Patriarch Kirill was “smeared”, but their reflection remained

After Patriarch Kirill's statement about edited photographs, where a Breguet watch for $30,000 was allegedly attached to him, bloggers found a photo on the Russian Orthodox Church website where there is no watch on the patriarch's hand, but they are reflected on a lacquered table, Gazeta.Ru writes.

“What a disgrace. This one is the campaign against the patriarch,” blogger Alexei Navalny wrote on Wednesday, posting a link to the Patriarchia.Ru website with a photo.

Approximately an hour after the start of the discussion on the Internet, the opportunity to view an enlarged version of the photo was removed from the ROC website, but Gazeta.Ru retained its screenshot.

As explained on the ROC website, the photo was taken on July 3, 2009 during a meeting with Russian Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov.

Also on Wednesday, bloggers drew attention to a photo of the state agency RIA Novosti from the February meeting of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with representatives of religious denominations. In this photo, the patriarch sits next to Putin, and the primate is wearing a Breguet watch on his hand.

Last week, Patriarch Kirill, in a conversation with TV journalist Vladimir Solovyov, called resonant photographs a “collage” where the patriarch is wearing an expensive Breguet watch on his right hand. The patriarch explained that in the patriarchal attire for the service, in which he is in the photo, “it is impossible to wear a watch.”

At the same time, the patriarch explained that he really has a Breguet for $30,000, but they are among the boxes with gifts to the patriarch, and he never put them on. The primate of the Russian Orthodox Church added that he wears a watch that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gave him - "Russian, inexpensive."

The scandal around the patriarch's watch broke out last year in Ukraine, where the patriarch came to visit. Local journalists took photos of the patriarch with a Breguet watch. And on one of the photographs, which Cyril called a "collage", the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church in patriarchal attire carefully examines his wrist, on which a watch is visible.

zvezda.ru, 04.04.2012

The Church explained about the "anti-vampire watch" on the wrist of Patriarch Kirill: this is a "ridiculous mistake"

The press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill issued an official statement regarding the photographs of the saint with an expensive watch on his hand. The fact that in the photos posted on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the clock either disappears or appears, was called a "mistake" in the Russian Orthodox Church.

"Employees of the photo editorial office of the press service made a ridiculous mistake when working with the photo archive posted on the site," the press service said in a statement received by NEWSru.com. The original photograph has now been returned to its original place. The cache memory of the site server has been cleared of the processed photo, the press service reported. However, another photo, from which the watch was removed, is still on the site.

The photo on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church, which shows the reflection of the watch on the patriarch’s hand, but there is no watch itself, was processed by a 24-year-old inexperienced employee, a girl “secular, not a nun,” the deputy head of the press service of the Patriarchate told the Russian News Service. "The man showed a stupid, unjustified initiative, not coordinated with the leadership. It is clear that this is a misunderstanding. We do not want to hide anything, we have nothing to be ashamed of," the press service stressed.

"We value our employees, and even when they make mistakes, we strive first of all to correct them, to explain to the person," a representative of the Patriarchate told RSN. At the same time, the press service said in a statement that "the perpetrators will be severely punished."

Journalists, meanwhile, asked not to punish the bild editor of the Patriarchy's website, believing that it was not his fault in what happened. As Slon.ru recalls, according to popular beliefs, any evil spirits like vampires are not reflected in the mirror, so the reverse situation is very logical - it turns out that the watch of the patriarch in the picture is "anti-vampire".

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin also indirectly commented on the situation, not failing to hint that the scandal around the patriarch's watch was apparently overblown. “I have never been interested in what kind of watch he has, moreover, I don’t really remember what kind of watch I have on my hand, I have to look. This side of life is of little interest to me,” Chaplin told Slon.ru.

The head of the Patriarch's press service, Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, spoke more sharply the day before. "I think it's indecent, shameful to consider items of personal toilet or gifts, or other things that another person wears," he said in an interview with the Kommersant FM radio station. "some public figure. I think it's indecent. There is some personal territory of a person, to get into which is considered complete lack of culture. Therefore, of course, I will not comment on it."

"Miracle" with hours

On the eve of the blogosphere unfolded a heated discussion of the mysterious phenomenon, which bloggers dubbed only as a "miracle". Having carefully looked at the photographs posted on the official website of the Moscow Patriarchate, where the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is depicted together with the Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov, the bloggers found that there is no watch on the patriarch’s hand, but their reflection is on the shiny surface of the table.

It is not easy to determine what kind of watch the clergyman wears from this picture, but they are not too similar to those "small, neat" watches with the coat of arms, donated by Dmitry Medvedev. Recall that on the sixth day, journalist Vladimir Solovyov published excerpts from his interview with Kirill, in which the patriarch, in particular, explained about the long-standing scandal with Breguet watches photographed by Ukrainian journalists.

“When we put on a robe for service, it’s impossible to put on a watch, it’s impossible to wear a watch. And I looked at this photo and suddenly realized - but this is a collage!” Patriarch Solovyov said. “Yes, I wear a watch. This watch was given to me by Dmitry Anatolyevich This is our Russian watch, an inexpensive watch with a coat of arms - a small, neat watch."

"One of the main principles of our work is the fundamental refusal to use photo editing programs to change the appearance of images. Photo processing always concerns only color and other technical indicators. On what basis in this situation a gross violation of our internal ethics was made - a question that will be examined very carefully, the perpetrators will be severely punished," the Patriarch's press service said in a statement today.

The press service apologized to all users of the site for the "technical oversight". The scale of the oversight is truly impressive. The fact is that not only the original photo with a clock was initially removed from the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, but also a number of other pictures in which the patriarch was captured with a clock, the Ukrainian portal Glavnoe notes.

For example, at a meeting with the former US ambassador, Kirill wore the same watch, and at a meeting with the Turkish ambassador, and during a rendezvous with the Minister of Defense. True, at the present time on the website of the Patriarchy these photographs are again included in the list of illustrations for the relevant news (meeting with the US Ambassador, the Turkish Ambassador, the Minister of Defense).

NEWSru.com, April 5, 2012

Apartment response of Patriarch Kirill

Representatives of Vladimir Gundyaev, the owner of an apartment in the famous Moscow "House on the Embankment", succeeded in arresting the apartment of a downstairs neighbor.

Twenty million rubles; it is precisely this amount, according to the decision of the Moscow courts, that the ex-Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, cardiologist and priest Yuri Shevchenko must pay, compensating for the damage caused to the dwelling of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill in the "House on the Embankment" (Moscow, Serafimovicha Street, 2). 15 million rubles; so much, according to the judicial authorities, is Shevchenko's apartment in the "House on the Embankment" (the market value of living space in the famous building fluctuates around 50 million rubles). The arrest of housing belonging to the Shevchenko family is a measure aimed at securing claims.

The communal history associated with the patriarchal monastery began in 2010. A certain Lydia Leonova, registered in the apartment of Vladimir Gundyaev, accused Yuriy Shevchenko - a neighbor from below - that construction dust from repairs that were going on in the doctor's apartment damaged the property of the primate. The claims, according to the Rosbalt agency, included: "transportation of items from the apartment and back - 376 thousand rubles, repair of the apartment - 7.3 million rubles, rent of a similar living space for the period of repair - 2.1 million rubles, damaged furniture and interior items - 2.6 million rubles, special cleaning of 970 books - 6.3 million rubles, cleaning of property - 151 thousand rubles. Vladimir Gundyaev himself did not take part either in the conflict or in attempts to resolve it.

And Patriarch Kirill did not file any lawsuits either, - emphasizes Alexander Soldatov, editor-in-chief of the independent network resource Portal-Credo.Ru. - The plaintiff is a certain Mrs. Lidia Leonova, who has recently been presented by the press as the sister of the patriarch. But we do not know for sure to what extent she is related to him. We only know that she is registered in this apartment, and the sole owner of the living space is Vladimir Gundyaev, aka Patriarch Kirill. This data is in the public domain, in the cadastral records of various kinds: he bought this apartment about 7-8 years ago.

Publicist Vladimir Golyshev in his blog provides links to the official biography of the patriarch: he has a sister, but her name is Elena, she labors in the spiritual field - she is director of an Orthodox gymnasium. Sister Lydia is not listed in the available materials.

The name of Lydia Leonova first surfaced in the late 90s - when it turned out that several commercial structures were registered to her in Smolensk, where the current Patriarch Kirill was the diocesan bishop. These structures, in particular, were also engaged in the notorious tobacco business - they controlled some kind of tobacco trade there, they were engaged in investments of various kinds. There is reason to believe that Lidia Leonova, whom the future patriarch brought with him to Smolensk from Leningrad, is his kind of financial agent, at least, and a fairly close person, since they live in the same apartment.

This story became known because the lawyers of Mr. Shevchenko - the former Minister of Health of Russia, who has also been a priest of the Moscow Patriarchate for several years - drew the attention of the press to this situation after two courts, the district court and the Moscow City Court, made completely inadequate decisions. In the absence of any powers of attorney from Mrs. Leonova from the owner of this apartment - and this despite the fact that Leonova's lawyer did not have the proper documents to represent their interests - these absurd decisions were made to recover 20 million rubles from Mr. Shevchenko. At the same time, I note that the apartment of Patriarch Kirill, where Leonova lives, is one floor higher than Shevchenko's apartment. And the claim is that when Shevchenko was renovating his apartment, the dust did not fly down, but up and caused such huge damage to the property of the patriarch. In fact, in church circles they say that this apartment has simply become cramped for two such important people - there are only 144 square meters. m., so they decided to make it a two-level. Why should Mr. Shevchenko, who lives exactly under Patriarch Kirill, be evicted at any cost?

But since Yury Shevchenko is also a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church, could it be possible to somehow resolve the issue in line with church subordination, without involving a secular court?

That is, deprive him of his dignity, send him to a monastery? Any radical disciplinary action?

No, why. Something like this: "Here's an apartment for you in another place, let's agree."

No, it is not interesting to look at the apartment in another place. This apartment has a view of the Kremlin and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Therefore, the patriarch will not leave there at all.

Actually, I'm not talking about him, but about Mr. Shevchenko.

But Mr. Shevchenko's situation is more complicated. The priesthood of Yuri Shevchenko is not as simple as that of other clerics. The fact is that the late Alexy II advised him to become a priest. Mr. Shevchenko graduated from the Tashkent Seminary while living in Moscow and was ordained in Kyiv as part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Therefore, Shevchenko does not seem to be a cleric directly subordinate to Kirill.

And what will happen to him now?

Since the court ordered Shevchenko to vacate one of the two apartments that he owns in this house, plus pay compensation, it is possible that some enforcement proceedings will soon follow, during which he will be forcibly evicted from there. It should be noted that in his absence and in the absence of relatives, local authorities and law enforcement agencies have already broken into his apartment once, which is a gross violation of the law. But the court did not take this into account. And as a result of this invasion, the fact of the repair, which was considered in court, was recorded.

Let us add that in the document distributed by the lawyers, with which they are going to go to the Supreme Court, it is indicated that the patriarch cannot possess such property. In particular, the document says: “The owner of the apartment, V. M. Gundyaev, who was not involved in the case, being His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and at the same time a monk, according to the Charter of Basil the Great, in accordance with the 6th rule of the Double Council and the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church shall not own any property."

It is believed that all the property of the bishop belongs to the church. Any bishop, including the patriarch, when dying, cannot bequeath this property to any specific individuals. It all goes to the general church treasury. This is canon law. Therefore, the very fact that the patriarch owns such an apartment contradicts the canonical rules. But once again I note that formally it is not the patriarch who is involved in the case, but Mrs. Leonova, whose status is not completely clear.

We talked about the option with my sister above. Are there more or less official explanations of who the monk Kirill Lidia Leonova is? In addition to the communal neighbor, of course.

The official historiography is silent about Mrs. Leonova. Therefore, its status is incomprehensible to us: so we could at least refer to some official document. There is an unofficial historiography that originates from the publication of the German magazine "Stern" around 1993-1994, where Metropolitan Kirill is described as "an exemplary family man." And it is even claimed that he has children. Further, our portal, citing various sources - in particular, Sergei Bychkov from Moskovsky Komsomolets, who conducted various investigations regarding the life of the future patriarch - wrote for several years that this Mrs. Leonova is the daughter of a certain official from the Leningrad Regional Party Committee. The future patriarch met her back in the early 70s, when he was a student at the Leningrad Theological Academy. And now, supposedly since then, she has accompanied him everywhere - she lived in Smolensk, and now in Moscow. Therefore, the word "sister", perhaps, should be understood in a spiritual sense, and not in a physiological one.

Vladimir Gundyaev is the first person in the post of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, who has this kind of property? Or were Cyril's predecessors in office also distinguished by something similar?

Some predecessors were different, although Kirill's property probably surpasses that of any other patriarch in the entire post-revolutionary Russian history. For example, Patriarch Alexy I had no personal property. He lived in a dacha in Peredelkino or in Odessa, or in Chisty Lane in general church premises, where he was simply provided with housing free of charge. Patriarch Alexy II already had some personal property - for example, an apartment in the Golden Keys residential complex in the Matveevskoye area. In the 70s, at the request of the Council for Religious Affairs, the highest hierarchs were allocated apartments in a cooperative building near the Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station. But there was a cooperative form of ownership. Perhaps these apartments were privatized. For example, Metropolitan Yuvenaly still lives there - who once described in his official journal how some criminals with a knife attacked him in the stairwell near his apartment and seriously injured him ...

Alexy II had property in Switzerland. There is even a short film on Youtube about how he visits his cottage, his foreign residence. But it seems that Patriarch Kirill has much more such property. They say that he has houses in Switzerland, in Spain, somewhere else. All this is quite difficult to investigate. Part of the property is registered to other persons. But this apartment in the House on the Embankment - in one of the most expensive buildings in Moscow - is officially registered in the name of Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev. So we can talk about her. It, of course, significantly exceeds the cost of the apartment that belonged to Alexy II. Cyril is not the founder of this tradition, but he reached the maximum heights of acquisition.

And what does the congregation think about it? Wealth is wealth, but "House on the Embankment" is somewhat ostentatious.

It is probably no secret to anyone that among the flock, ordinary clergy, Kirill evokes various painful emotions. How many collective or private letters of protest, denunciations, and something else have appeared over the past 3 years. Even before the election of the patriarch, in 2008-2009, a lot was said that Kirill was too worldly, too politicking, that he did not fit in with the traditional benevolent image of the Russian patriarch. If you remember, during this campaign, Clement and Cyril, the two main candidates, were opposed on the principle of "prayer book and manager." Cyril's supporters emphasized that he has unique administrative abilities, including the ability to raise money and invest it. It is precisely such a patriarch that the church needs in this period of such wild state capitalism.

For greater independence of the church?

Perhaps, yes, in order to more or less on an equal footing to bargain with the authorities. Because Clement, being a non-possessor and a man of prayer, would be forced to mechanically and stupidly fulfill all the orders of the authorities. And Kirill, who has some kind of power of his own, including financial power, may demand a more respectful attitude towards himself, so that the church is perceived as some kind of equal entity in political life, in economic life, etc. Indeed, the majority of the flock and clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate Kirill is not perceived as a traditional patriarch, he causes a lot of negative emotions, and there is criticism within the church. But there is too rigid vertical structure. It provides very few opportunities for effective criticism. There are no conciliar institutions like a church parliament, where there could be factions, criticism, something else. There are no control and audit bodies. There is no normal work of the church court. All this dull discontent cannot acquire any organized forms. Therefore, while it remains somewhat suppressed and manifests itself on the sly. When, over time, perhaps, there will be tools for some kind of competitive struggle within the church, then all this will pour out. But so far it's all in such a crushed state.

And even information about such an act of acquisitiveness is not able to change the situation, upset the balance of this kind?

I wouldn't talk about balance. It's still such a forced depression. The energy of a very large protest force is accumulating in the Moscow Patriarchate. At the slightest weakening of the political bonds and guarantors that ensure the unity of the Moscow Patriarchate, all this power will spill out - in a very bright form, perhaps. At least in Moscow, most of the clergy knew that the patriarch had this apartment, that he also had a number of expensive real estate objects. This confuses someone and causes a dull murmur, while someone, on the contrary, sees in this proof that Kirill is a really effective manager, that he can acquire property, manage it: "if he did it for himself, then the church is something it might fall over." Take the program for the construction of 200 new churches in Moscow. After all, the Moscow clergy claim that, thanks to these temples, to occupy some new places, to find a new flock. So, there is some intersection of interests of the patriarch himself and part of the Moscow clergy.

However, with the departure of Yuri Luzhkov, much less talk about this program began.

Not later than the day before yesterday, a meeting of the Board of Trustees was held. In fact, the program was taken over by Mr. Resin, Luzhkov's closest aide. We can say that through Vladimir Resin there was a kind of translation of the situation that was under Luzhkov into the current realities. Resin, being officially a Jew, became an assistant to the patriarch on the construction of new temples. And he acts with his inherent pressure, strength in order to get more and more plots for this construction. True, this year only 11 sites will be built, which, of course, can be considered a defeat for Kirill. However, Resin guarantees that he will continue to push through new areas, seek their allocation ...

But it's not about that now. And that among the Moscow clergy there is such a layer that hopes to replenish their income after these churches appear - and therefore supports the efforts of the patriarch aimed at this. But the provincial clergy mostly complains. From everywhere we hear groans. Collective letters come to our editorial office that the rural clergy are subject to some exorbitant church taxes, which, by the way, have no legal status: just unofficial extortions to the black cash desk, a tax crime, in fact. Nevertheless, the bishops mercilessly dismiss those who do not meet these financial requirements. The amounts have increased many times over what they paid before Patriarch Kirill. Therefore, the position of Cyril within the church is unsteady. He holds out as long as his alliance with Vladimir Putin exists. Putin is the guarantor of the immunity of Kirill and his property. If something happens to Putin - of course, Kirill will not be able to resist either