By Marina Zioziou
Yesterday’s revelations about impending Western sanctions against him make sense Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
In fact, according to a document cited by the French news agency AFP, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church is considered “a longtime ally of President Vladimir Putin and has become one of the dominant supporters of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” In the same vein are the statements of Pope Francis in the Italian newspaper “Corriere Della Sera” that Cyril “can not become President Putin’s grandson”.
This, however, is the reality for the Patriarch of Moscow. A staunch supporter of the Russian president has described the war as a “sacred mission” aimed at defending Orthodoxy and Russian identity, which he says are threatened by the West’s demagogic influence. . For weeks, Primate of the Orthodox Church, affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate, has been begging Cyril to speak out against the Russian invasion. Their appeals were not heard.
And as if that were not enough, the Patriarch of Moscow in service on the holy days of Easter consecrated pieces of Easter cake, many of which were sent to Donbas. In his sermon, he urged that “hearts, minds, souls be calmed, so that this deadly conflict may end as soon as possible and the long-awaited peace will prevail.” He spoke in support of the US Alliance, but said that maintaining some independence was not the answer. It is now clear that in this way he continues to support Moscow’s “special military operation” and the Russian president.
“Career diplomat”
Many wonder who the real face of the Russian religious leader is. Ρας A career diplomat, Cyril has been the head of the Ecclesiastical Affairs Department of the Russian Church for two decades. As “foreign minister” of the Moscow Patriarchate he traveled around the world. He was a capable and tough negotiator, and many times – it is said – he went so far as to interrupt conversations that were not in line with his “wants”.
Aware and empowered by the fact that the Moscow Patriarchate represents at least 100 million Russian Orthodox, he demanded respect, but also the dominance of his positions and views over his interlocutors.
Many of his compatriots embrace his belief that they should take the lead of Orthodoxy from the Ecumenical Patriarchate and realize his vision for the creation of the so-called Third Rome.
“Elected Patriarch during Putin’s presidency”
Undoubtedly his story is interesting. Ο νυν Patriarch of Moscow was born on November 20, 1946 in Leningrad (modern-day St. Petersburg) as Vladimir Mikhailovich Gudyaev, the son of a priest and a German teacher. In his family, the priesthood seems to have played a decisive role in the path he eventually followed and the character he formed. It is worth mentioning that his grandfather, his father and his brother were also priests.
In 1965, after graduating from high school, Gudyaev entered the Leningrad Theological Academy and in 1969 became a monk, named Cyril. On April 7 of the same year he was ordained a priest-deacon and on June 1 a monk. What is striking in his case is that in 1970 he graduated with honors from the Leningrad Theological Academy with a degree in Theology, completing his eight-year studies in just 4 years. At the age of just 28, Cyril became rector of the Leningrad Academy of Theology and School. In the following decades he climbed the hierarchy of the Russian Church and on January 27, 2009, winning 75% of the votes of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow, was elected Patriarch under Putin. Perhaps that is why the Moscow Patriarchate soon became actively involved in the expansionist policy pursued by the Russian president.
He has shown rich philanthropic and pastoral work in his country, managing to unite, for the time being, his flock, while his sermons are often contradictory even with the Christian teaching itself in terms of tolerance and acceptance of diversity.
Typical are his recent statements on the correlation between the moral decline of the West vis-.-Vis Russia and the war in Ukraine.
“The conflict in Donbass is about rejecting the values ​​offered by those who claim world power. The side test you support is whether your country is willing to host Gay Pride parades.
“The Ukrainian Autocephalous harbinger of war”
The chapter “Ukrainian Autocephalous” and the threat of schism within Orthodoxy by Cyril, as it turned out, was the harbinger of the war in Ukraine. Unfortunately, in our country few people realized it… “They did not give a mountain and they came here”… “Nothing unknown, nothing new”. The Patriarch of Moscow used all his diplomatic influence as well as his financial strength to pressure the other Patriarchates and cause a rift in the Orthodox Church.
As on the battlefield, the Russians’ expectations have fortunately not been met, and so is the ecclesiastical reality in Ukraine.
Ukrainian clergymen of Metropolitan Onoufrios, who are close to the Moscow Patriarchate, do not want to mention the Russian Patriarch as they see in his face the religious leader of their invader. As a result, they move away from the pro-Russian Church in Ukraine and some join the new, Autocephalous Church, under Metropolitan Epiphanius, or demand autonomy, ceasing to mention Cyril. Moscow’s immediate response is that the cessation of remembrance is a schism.
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