Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (2009-), former Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad,Head of the World Russian People's Council

Born on November 20, 1946 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), in the family of a priest. Grandfather - Vasily Gundyaev- by profession a railway mechanic, 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; Having returned from prison, he became a priest in the mid-50s. Father, Archpriest Mikhail Vasilievich Gundyaev- in the 30s he was repressed, in the 40s he was a leading engineer at one of the military factories besieged Leningrad, ordained a priest in 1947, served in the Leningrad diocese. Brother, Archpriest Nikolai Mikhailovich Gundyaev, since 1977, rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg, professor of St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Sister - Elena, an Orthodox teacher. At school, due to religious convictions, she did not join the Pioneers or the Komsomol; became the hero of an anti-religious publication in a city newspaper. In 1961 he left his parents’ home (the family had lived in Krasnoe Selo near Leningrad since 1959) and went to work at the cartographic bureau of the Leningrad Complex Geological Expedition. At the same time, he studied at evening school, which he graduated from in 1964. In 1965-67, with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod Nicodemus (Rotova) studied at the Leningrad Theological Seminary (LDS). In 1967-69 he studied at the Leningrad Theological Academy (LDA), which he graduated with honors. On June 1, 1970 he received the degree of candidate of theology for the essay “Formation and Development church hierarchy and the teaching of the Orthodox Church about its gracious character." In student years in March-April 1968 he participated in the 3rd All-Christian Peace Congress (VMC) in Prague; in July 1968 - at the IV Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Uppsala. He participated in the annual meetings of the Central Committee of the WCC as a young adviser, and was vice-chairman of the youth commission of the Christian Peace Congress (CPC).

On April 3, 1969, Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod was tonsured a monk, on April 7, 1969 he was ordained a hierodeacon, and on June 1, 1969 - a hieromonk. After graduating from the academy, he remained at the LDA as a professorial fellow, a teacher of dogmatic theology and an assistant inspector of the LDAiS.S. August 30, 1970 - personal secretary of Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR). September 12, 1971 elevated to the rank of archimandrite, then appointed representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the WCC in Geneva, rector of the parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1971 represented 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. On December 26, 1974 he was appointed rector of the LDA and S with the release of the representative of the MP to the WCC. On June 7, 1975 - chairman of the diocesan council of the Leningrad diocese. From December 1975 - member of the Central Committee and the Executive Committee of the WCC. On September 9, 1976, he was appointed permanent representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in the plenary commission of the WCC.

In November 1975, at the ecumenical assembly in Nairobi, he condemned the letter of Fr. Gleb Yakunin about the persecution of believers in the USSR and denied violations of the rights of believers. In December 1975, he was elected a member of the Central and Executive Committees of the WCC.

On March 3, 1976, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, he was determined to be Bishop of Vyborg, vicar of the Leningrad diocese. At the same time, he was introduced to the Commission of the Holy Synod on issues of Christian unity and inter-church relations. Hirotonisan March 14, 1976. April 27-28, 1976, as part of a delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate, participated in negotiations and interviews with representatives of Pax Christi Internationalis. September 9, 1976 approved as a permanent representative from the Russian Orthodox Church to the plenary commission of the WCC. From November 18, 1976 to October 12, 1978 - Deputy Patriarchal Exarch Western Europe(according to the report dated November 4, 1976, Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe, on the need, in connection with the fifth heart attack, to appoint a deputy for him - with the proposal of the candidacy of Kirill). November 21-28, 1976 participated in the First Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox meeting in Geneva .From January 22 to 31, 1977, he headed the delegation from the Leningrad and Novgorod diocese at the anniversary of the Patriarchal communities in Finland. From July 19 to 26, 1977, at the head of the delegation from the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, he attended the IX General Assembly of Syndesmos in Chambesy.

On September 2, 1977 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop. From October 12 to October 19, 1977, together with Patr. Pimen was on an official visit to Patras. Demetrius I (Patriarchate of Constantinople). From November 23 to December 4, 1977, at the head of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation, he visited Italy. On December 23-25, 1977, with a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church led by Patriarch Pimen, he participated in the enthronement of Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II. On June 22-27, 1978, he was present with the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Fifth All-Christian Peace Congress in Prague. On October 6-20, 1978, he participated in negotiations with representatives of the Roman Catholic Church. On October 12, 1978, he was relieved of his post as Deputy Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe and appointed manager of the patriarchal parishes in Finland (he looked after them until 1984). From March 27 to 29, 1979 . participated in the Consultation “Responsibility of the Churches of the USSR and the USA for Disarmament.” From July 12 to 24 of the same year, he headed the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the World Conference “Faith, Science and the Future” in Cambridge (USA). From November 9 to 24, 1979 in as part of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, at the invitation of the French Episcopal Conference, he visited France. On November 16, 1979, he was appointed a member of the Holy Synod Commission on Christian Unity. From January 28 to 31, 1980, he was present in Budapest at a meeting of representatives of Churches from the socialist countries of Europe and leading figures of the WCC .29 May 1980 participated from the Russian Orthodox Church at the first meeting of the Mixed Orthodox-Roman Catholic Commission on the island. Patmos and Rhodes. August 14-22, 1980 - participant in the 32nd meeting of the Center. committee of the WCC in Geneva. August 22-25 - member of the delegation of representatives of Churches in the USSR and the USA (Geneva). November 25-27, 1980, as part of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation, participated in Bulgaria in the celebration of the 1300th anniversary of the founding of the Bulgarian state. From November 30 to December 12 of the same year led a pilgrimage group of representatives and students of the LDA on a trip to the Holy Land. December 23, 1980 appointed member of the Commission for organizing the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' d 1988. From August 16 to 26, 1981 - participant in the 33rd meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Dresden. From August 31 to September 6, 1981, together with the Patriarch Pimen visited Finland. October 30-November 3, 1981 at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada) took part in meetings of the Committee for the preparation of the VI Assembly of the WCC. November 5-7, 1981 participated in the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the National Council of Churches in USA. November 23-27 in Amsterdam (Netherlands) from Christians of the USSR, he was a member of the hearing group on nuclear disarmament. January 3-16, 1982 in Lima (Peru) he participated in a meeting of the WCC Commission “Faith and Church Order.” In the same year (July 19-28) took part in the 34th meeting of the WCC Central Committee in Geneva. From September 28 to October 4, 1982, he was in Finland, and from October 25 to November 1, in Japan. From July 24 to August 10, 1983. - participant of the VI Assembly of the WCC in Vancouver (Canada), at which he was elected to new line-up Central Committee of the WCC. On November 26-27 of the same year, as part of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, he participated in the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia. From February 20 to 29, 1984, he took part in a meeting of the Executive Committee of the WCC in Geneva. From May 31 to June 7, from the Russian Orthodox Church, he participated in a meeting of the Mixed Theological Commission between the Roman Catholic Church and the Local Orthodox Churches, held on Fr. Crit. July 9-18, 1984 - participant in the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Geneva. As part of the Soviet public delegation, he participated in the international conference of scientists and religious figures from November 19 to 23, 1974 in Italy.

On December 26, 1984 he was appointed Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazemsky. The transfer to Smolensk was a demotion for Archbishop Kirill and indicated disgrace on the part of the state supervisory authorities ( "...There are various rumors about the reasons why he fell out of favor. Some associate this with his reform activity in the sphere of worship: he not only practiced the use of the Russian language in worship, but also served Vespers in the evening, and not in the morning, as this is still accepted in the Russian Orthodox Church. Another reason for the removal of Bishop Kirill from the “northern capital” of Russia is his refusal to vote against the resolution of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, which condemned the introduction Soviet troops to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he didn’t vote “for” either, he just “abstained,” which, however, at that time was also almost a feat.”- Natalia Babasyan. Star of Metropolitan Kirill // "Russian Journal", 04/01/1999). Kirill himself believes that he fell victim to a closed resolution of the CPSU Central Committee on the fight against religiosity, adopted on the eve of the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus', for excessive activity as rector of the Theological Academy : during his rectorship, access to the LDA and C was opened for graduates of secular universities, and in 1978, a regency department was created, which women could also enroll in.

From June 2 to June 9, 1985, he was part of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation at the VI All-Christian Peace Congress in Prague.

On November 30, 1988, Archbishop Kirill was entrusted with the development of the Regulations on Theological Schools - a new type of Orthodox 2-year educational institutions, training clergy and designed to facilitate the solution to the personnel problem.

By the definition of the Holy Synod of April 10-11, 1989, Kirill’s archbishop’s title was changed: instead of “Smolensk and Vyazemsky” - “Smolensk and Kaliningrad”. Since November 14, 1989 - Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) and a permanent member of the Holy Synod. This appointment actually indicated the removal of “state disgrace” from him. On February 20, 1990, after the liquidation of foreign Exarchates, Archbishop Kirill was entrusted with temporary management of the parishes of the Korsun (until 1993) and Hague-Netherlands (until 1991) dioceses.

In 1990, he was a member of the Holy Synod Commission for the preparation of the Local Council. On March 20, 1990, he was appointed chairman of the Holy Synod Commission for the revival of religious and moral education and charity. On May 8, 1990 he became a member of the Synodal Biblical Commission. July 16, 1990 appointed as a member of the Holy Synod Commission for promoting efforts to overcome the consequences of the accident at Chernobyl nuclear power plant. On October 27, 1990, he was appointed chairman of the Synodal Commission for the preparation of changes to the Charter on the governance of the Russian Orthodox Church. On July 20, 1990, he became the administrator of the Patriarchal parishes in Finland. On February 25, 1991, he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.

In May 1992, the American priest of the ROCOR, Fr. Victor Potapov in his brochure “God is Betrayed by Silence” for the first time publicly accused Kirill of direct collaboration in Soviet time with the KGB and gave him his operational pseudonym - “Mikhailov” ( "At a meeting of students of Moscow State University, the head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill(aka agent “Mikhailov”) stated that the fact of the meeting of the clergy with representatives of the KGB “is morally indifferent” (Bulletin “Straight Path”, No. 1-2, 1992)").

At the beginning of 1993, with the sanction of Patriarch Alexy II, Metropolitan Kirill joined the International Preparatory Committee for the convening of the World Russian Council in Moscow (which was initiated by the “World Russian Congress” Igor Kolchenko, RAU-Corporation Alexey Podberezkin, "Roman-newspaper" Valeria Ganicheva, as well as the magazines “Our Contemporary” and “Moscow”). Having become one of the five co-chairs of the preparatory committee, he held the First World Russian Council on May 26-28, 1993 at the St. Danilov Monastery.

In February 1995 he led the Second World Russian Council. Shortly before this, the President Boris Yeltsin during an informal conversation with Kirill, he promised to return to the Church the lands confiscated from it after the revolution, and then (under pressure Anatoly Chubais) took back the promise. At the Council, Kirill made thinly veiled criticism of the authorities for their immoral and anti-national policies. The establishment of the “World Russian Council” was declared as a “permanent supra-party forum” under the auspices of the Church, 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 by the church hierarchs led by Kirill did not interfere. Between February and December 1995, Kirill moderated the opposition of the “supra-party forum” he headed, and on the III The 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 Rus' Alexy II, and Metropolitan Kirill was one of his deputies.

Since August 2, 1995 - member of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President Russian Federation.In 1996 - member of the Joint Commission of the Constantinople and Moscow Patriarchates on the “Estonian issue”. Since June 6, 1996 - chairman working group Holy Synod to develop a draft concept reflecting a church-wide view on issues of church-state relations and problems of modern society as a whole. In 1996, he joined the board of directors of the Peresvet church bank.

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 import of excisable goods (primarily cigarettes) bypassing customs duties, under the guise of humanitarian aid, in amounts of tens of millions of dollars and in quantities 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 secret initiator of these accusations was the then head of the affairs of the MP, Archbishop of Solnechnogorsk Sergius (Fomin). An internal church commission headed by Archbishop Sergius was created to investigate these reports. 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.

He 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 made a proposal to transfer part of the income tax of Russians to the budget of religious organizations, including the Russian Orthodox Church.

In May 2001, a journalist from Moskovsky Komsomolets Sergey Bychkov published an article “Metropolitan from a Snuffbox”, in which he repeated previous accusations against Metropolitan Kirill regarding the import of tobacco, and also publicly identified Kirill with the WCC figure “agent Mikhailov”, mentioned in previously published materials of the Supreme Council commission (“Yakunin-Ponomarev commission” ) about connections between the KGB and the Russian Orthodox Church in Soviet times.

On December 6, 2008, at an emergency meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the death of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Kirill was elected Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne by secret ballot. On January 27, 2009, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church elected Metropolitan Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' .

Supporter of the active intervention of the Church in social life and into politics, including its influence on power from the position "The Priesthood is Above the Kingdom".

Since 1995, on Saturdays he hosted the television program “The Word of the Shepherd” on ORT.

Hobby: alpine skiing. Lives in the official residence of the DECR in Serebryany Bor (Moscow). In 2002, I bought a penthouse in the House on the embankment overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (the apartment was registered to Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, "what is there a corresponding entry in the cadastral register"(The New Times. No. 50, December 15, 2008). Appeared in the media "information about the Metropolitan's purchase of a villa in Switzerland."(ibid.).

In August 1993, he was awarded the international Loviisa Peace Prize, awarded to him by the Public Committee "Loviisa Peace Forum" headed by Mrs. Tellervo Koivisto, wife of the President of Finland (this prize is awarded every three years to a peacemaker who has made a particularly significant contribution). Awarded church orders of St. equal to book Vladimir II degree, St. Sergius of Radonezh I and II degrees, St. blgv. book Daniel of Moscow, 1st degree, St. Innocent, Metropolitan Moscow and Kolomna, II degree, St. Alexy of Moscow II degree, orders of many Local Orthodox Churches; other church awards: memorial panagia (1977), nominal panagia (1988). Has state awards: Order of Friendship of Peoples (1988, on the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus'), Order of Friendship (1996), “For Services to the Fatherland” III degree, medals "50 years of victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”, “300 years of the Russian Navy”, “In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow”; awarded the public order of St. George I degree (1998, from Russian Chamber personality).

Sources:
Official biography of Kirill on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church "Patriarchia.ru"; database "Prosopographer - Descriptor of Persons" materials by N. Mitrokhin in the database "Labyrinth"

Sergey Bychkov (2001):
In 1992, the Council of Bishops formed its own commission, headed by the Bishop of Kostroma and Galich Alexander. While the priest Gleb Yakunin And Lev Ponomarev, then deputies Supreme Council, understood nicknames and tasks, Vladyka Gundyaev ( nickname - agent Mikhailov) showed remarkable ingenuity and began buying archival documents. Having concentrated a powerful base of incriminating evidence, including on the patriarch, over the past 10 years he has been cleverly manipulating documents, silencing overzealous bishops. When the patriarch tries to reason with him, suddenly some papers appear in the media, tarnishing the reputation of His Holiness. Unfortunately, the work of the deputy commission ended in nothing. And the Synodal did not start work at all.
Sergey Bychkov. Metropolitan from a snuff box. After all, there’s no way without Gundyaev! // Moskovsky Komsomolets, 05.25.2001 - http://www.mk.ru/blogs/idmk/2001/05/25/mk-daily/34819/ (=http:// www.compromat.net/page_10804.htm

Mention of “agent Mikhailov” in the materials of the Yakunin-Ponomarev commission:

1973
January
l. 32. Agents of the KGB “Magister” and "Mikhailov". These agents had a beneficial influence on the work of the Council and presented materials of operational interest about the situation in the WCC and characterizing data on individual figures.
[...]
Deputy Head of the 4th Department of the 5th Directorate of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Lieutenant Colonel Fitsev.
NB:
the same materials mention “Mikhailov” the Baptist:
Agent names of agents from among the Baptist leadership: “Mikhailov”, “Abramov”, “Fedorov”, “Nevsky”, “Kesarev”.

Mentions (albeit without name)- according to Fr. Yakova Krotova- Kirill Gundyaev in the book of memoirs of Fr. Augustina Nikitina:
[priest Father Vitaly Borovoy about the denunciation of him in 1974]:
“Oh, so this is Archpriest so-and-so, our secretary in Geneva He made a fuss and reported me! After all, he was at this conversation. And, as always, I got everything mixed up."(p. 170). [...]
“Fr. Vitaly [Borovoy] recovered from the shock, his health noticeably deteriorated. Nevertheless, he “outlasted” four DECR chairmen and only under the fifth, in 1997, he became a freelance consultant for the DECR. [...] And the Geneva archpriest -the secretary who laid the priest as protopresbyter still flickers around the “box” and teaches us from the screen about patriotism... They wrote about such people back in the early twentieth century?
Hush, hush, gentlemen!
Mister Iscariot,
Patriot of patriots,
Heading here!"
(pp. 171-172).

Mention of KGB agent "Mikhailov" in the "Private determination" of the commission of the Supreme Council:
The Commission draws the attention of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church to the unconstitutional use by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the KGB of the USSR of a number of church bodies for their own purposes by recruiting and sending KGB agents to them. Thus, through the Department of External Church Relations, agents designated by the nicknames traveled abroad and carried out assignments from the KGB leadership "Svyatoslav", "Adamant", "Mikhailov", "Topaz", "Nesterovich", "Kuznetsov", "Ognev", "Esaulenko" and others. The nature of the orders they carry out testifies to the inseparability of this Department from the state, its transformation into a hidden center of KGB agents among believers.

On January 27, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church at its third plenary session elected the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The new Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

Let us recall that in order to discuss candidates for the Patriarchal Throne, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church met in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on January 25, to which 198 delegates from 202 bishops of the Russian Church arrived (four bishops - Archbishop of Chicago and Detroit Alipius (ROCOR), Bishop Daniel of Iria ( ROCOR), Metropolitan Nikodim of Kharkov and Bogodukhovsky and Bishop of Kirovograd and Novomirgorod Panteleimon 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 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; Clement (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 received 97 votes, Metropolitan Clement – ​​32 votes, Metropolitan Philaret – 16 votes.

On January 27, the Local Council met in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior to elect the 16th Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. At 12 o'clock the first plenary meeting of the Council began, at which the election of the Presidium of the Local Council, the announcement of greetings to the Council, and the presentation of the Patriarchal Locum Tenens with a report took place. At the meeting, a welcoming message from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was read out.

At the second plenary meeting, which began at 15:30, the approval of the agenda, program and regulations of the meetings of the Local Council, the election of the working bodies of the Local Council, and the approval of the procedure for electing the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' took place. At the meeting, one of the three candidates, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk Filaret, withdrew his candidacy for the election of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', calling for votes for Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. Metropolitan Kirill in his response said that he bows his head to Metropolitan Philaret, 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 Philaret withdrew his candidacy, Bishop of Polotsk and Glubokoe Theodosius (Bilchenko) proposed electing 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 of the Local Council chose a new Primate from two candidates by secret ballot.

At 17.30 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 to the participants of the Council, and the chairman of the commission, Metropolitan Isidor of Krasnodar and Kuban, announced the voting results. According to the protocol, 702 delegates of the Council took part in the secret ballot. The number of ballots after voting was 700, of which 677 were valid ballots, 23 were invalid. Of the 677 votes, 508 cathedral members voted for Metropolitan Kirill, and 169 for Metropolitan Clement. When asked by Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev whether Metropolitan Kirill accepted his election as Primate of the Church, Bishop Kirill replied: “I accept the election of me as Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', I thank him and in no way contrary to the verb” and bowed

"An exemplary family man"

...Dust appeared in a five-room apartment with an area of ​​144.8 square meters. m, which belong to Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev. This is the secular name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. And Lydia Leonova is Kirill’s faithful comrade-in-arms, who has accompanied him through life for many years (according to media reports, Leonova is Gundyaev’s sister). And she is registered in the same apartment as the patriarch on Serafimovich Street.

I have to disappoint the respected Rosbalt: Mr. Gundyaev’s only sister’s name is Elena.

In this family, children grew up who gave their lives to God. The Patriarch's brother is Archpriest Nikolai Gundyaev, professor of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Sister - Elena Mikhailovna - director of the Orthodox gymnasium.

This is the real (and I repeat: the only) sister of Mr. Gundyaev - Elena.

And this is what his “false sister” Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova looks like:

Lydia Leonova

... Joining the Soviet elite, “ beautiful life“, constant trips abroad corrected the simultaneously romantic and ascetic ideal that young Volodya probably aspired to when taking monasticism. None of his official biographies will ever include the story of his acquaintance with Lydia 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, poorly versed in Orthodox canons, to call Bishop Kirill an “exemplary family man.” They say that now a number of commercial enterprises are registered at Lidia Mikhailovna’s home address in Smolensk, one way or another connected with the business of the metropolitan himself. […] Original of this material
© Radio Liberty, 03/23/2012

Housing response from Patriarch Kirill

[…] 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. Lydia Leonova, who in Lately the press presents her as the sister of the patriarch. But we do not know for sure to what degree of relationship she is with him. We only know that it is registered in this apartment, and the sole owner of the living space is Vladimir Gundyaev, aka Patriarch Kirill. This data is publicly available, in cadastral records of various kinds: he bought this apartment about 7-8 years ago.

Publicist Vladimir Golyshev in his blog provides links to official biography Patriarch: he has a sister, but her name is Elena, she strives in the spiritual field - she is the 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 in her name in Smolensk, where the current Patriarch Kirill was the diocesan bishop. These structures, in particular, were involved in the notorious tobacco business - they controlled some kind of tobacco trade there and were involved in various types of investments. There is reason to believe that Lydia Leonova, whom the future patriarch brought with him to Smolensk from Leningrad, is his financial agent of some kind, at least and a fairly close person, since they live in the same apartment. […]

At the same time, I note that Patriarch Kirill’s apartment, where Leonova lives, is located on a floor higher than Shevchenko’s apartment. And the claim is that when Shevchenko was renovating his apartment, the dust flew not down, but up and caused such enormous damage to the patriarch’s property. In fact, in church circles they say that this apartment has simply become too cramped for two people so important people- there are only 144 sq. m., so they decided to make it two-level. Why is it necessary to evict Mr. Shevchenko, who lives exactly under Patriarch Kirill, at any cost? […]

Yuri Shevchenko's priesthood 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 building, plus pay compensation, it is possible that some kind of 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 his relatives, local authorities and law enforcement agencies already broke into his apartment once, which is gross violation law. But the court did not take this into account. And as a result of this invasion, the fact of repairs was recorded, which was considered in court.

A.Globa

“Sensational” materials about “ private apartment Patriarch Kirill" in the famous "House on the Embankment" on Serafimovich Street in Moscow. The authors of the “sensation” do not limit themselves to the “housing” issue, but use “the incriminating evidence they found on Patriarch Kirill” as a reason to create among readers the opinion that Patriarch Kirill allegedly does not have the trust of the Church and is about to be “thrown off” that His Holiness rests only on Vladimir Putin, whom the authors and publishers of the article also hate, based on their technology of sowing imaginary divisions, creating their appearance, they contrast Patriarch Kirill with the figure of the “ascetic and non-acquisitive” Metropolitan Clement. [...]

It is significant that the CIA, anti-Russian comprador media, which respond to the question of “how one makes an anti-Semite” with accusations of a “new Holocaust”, in this case very anti-Semiticly relish the question of the Jewish origin of Patriarch Kirill’s adviser Vladimir Iosifovich Resin, an experienced Moscow builder, faithfully serving the Russian Church, helping to implement the project of building two hundred churches in new areas of Moscow as soon as possible. I don’t know if I’ve already taken Resin Holy Baptism(Patriarch Kirill is an experienced missionary, and those around him, as a rule, become zealous Orthodox Christians), but in our home prayers we remember the servant of God Joseph as an assistant in the most important project, thanks to which the word of the Church will come to every Moscow home - the project construction of a total of six hundred churches in new areas of Moscow.

So, who are these “whistleblowers” ​​and what is the “housing issue” they have exaggerated?

An article by “Yuri Vasiliev” was published, this topic is inflated by the website of Radio Liberty (founded and financed by the CIA), and the website of B. Berezovsky “Grani. ru", radio "Echo of Moscow" (known for its Russophobic position). What all these media have in common is that they, as one, supported the “swamp” attack on Russia; it was the “swamp” militants, followers of Lenin and Trotsky, from the “Left Front”, who staged provocations against the construction of 200 churches in new areas of Moscow and precisely “ swamp", Nemtsov, Navalny, "Novaya Gazeta", "Echo of Moscow", TV channel "Dozhd" supported the blasphemous action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the perpetrators of which did not hide the fact that they were striking into the union of Patriarch Kirill and Vladimir Putin, which was interfering with the implementation of the "orange" » script in Russia.

It is indicative who are presented as “experts” on the “housing issue”. This is A. Soldatov, editor-in-chief of the Credo website. Both Soldatov and his website specialize in slandering Patriarch Kirill personally, the Russian Orthodox Church as such, and promoting schisms and totalitarian sects. […] The first years of its existence, the Credo website was located right in the office of the head of the Effective Policy Foundation, G. Pavlovsky, who, allegedly, was baptized in the so-called. “Suzdal schism” (marginal sectarian group), headed by the “Credo” ideologist “bishop” Grigory Lurie. Actually, this sect consists of Lurie, Soldatov, Pavlovsky and a couple of their fans. Now Pavlovsky is in sharp opposition to V. Putin and this explains a lot. Much is explained by the fact that the regular authors of “Credo” were such characters as the recently deceased US military intelligence colonel E. Magerovsky and the former lieutenant colonel of the PGU KGB of the USSR, who defected to the US side, living under the “roof” of the American intelligence services K. Preobrazhensky, a “specialist” in fabricating slanderous fabrications against the Russian Orthodox Church.

The “head” of the “Suzdal schism” for many years was a certain Sevastyan Zhakov, convicted of child homosexual pedophilia, he “fostered” Soldatova and Co. We will tell you more about the interest of “sexual minorities” in the persecution of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill.

The second “expert” of the mentioned “revelatory article” is V. Golyshev, a figure with a reputation as a grotesque blogger, close to S. Belkovsky (for many years Golyshev headed the Belkovsky APN website). Belkovsky, the owner of the “institute of someone’s national strategies” in Russia, the new permanent author of “Credo”, is known as B. Berezovsky’s representative in Russia, A. Navalny’s “political manager” and, in general, a key figure in the “orange scenario” in Russia. That is, a figure who is preparing the desovereignization of Russia and foreign intervention in its internal affairs. Belkovsky constantly publicly calls for the dismemberment of Russia “through the mediation of Barack Obama”), the separation of the Caucasus and, in general, the creation of some new “Russian state and Church.” Current Russian state and the Church, therefore, according to Belkovsky, must be destroyed. Belkovsky, realizing that the union of Patriarch Kirill and Vladimir Putin is a key obstacle in the implementation of the “orange scenario” in Russia, on the pages of “Moskovsky Komsomolets” he shoots at this union, as well as at such counter-revolutionary missionary projects that save the people from “orange” manipulations Patriarch Kirill, as “200 churches in new districts of Moscow” and a mission among young people (including among youth subcultures). Belkovsky’s hatred of these projects is understandable - they interfere with the manipulation of young people, they snatch them from the “predatory clutches of orange anti-Russian propaganda,” because young people, including due to the lack of that very active Orthodox mission that Patriarch Kirill is engaged in, in Ukraine really became victims “ orange" propaganda and "cannon fodder" of the notorious "orange revolution". These are the figures and such publications that are inflating the topic of “Patriarch Kirill’s apartment.”

Another media outlet that exaggerates the “housing issue” is RIA Rosbalt. […]

And what, exactly, is the “theme” of which the Patriarch is accused? The fact that he is a “millionaire” because, having violated his monastic vows, he purchased an apartment overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior with a view of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and, either himself or his proxies, filed a lawsuit and demand compensation for damages from the priest Yuri Shevchenko (former Minister of Health of the Russian Federation), who, having purchased an apartment on the next floor, arranged a renovation there with a wave of dust, alterations of walls, communications, etc., as a result of which the apartment belonging to the Patriarch, into which all this dust, all sorts of harmful chemical substances, became uninhabitable. Thus, the court quite rightly recovered from Shevchenko, this wealthy man who has several apartments in the center of Moscow.

So what's really going on? The author of these lines tried to understand the situation. For this purpose, it was necessary to “raise all connections”, question all conceivable and inconceivable sources, even visit the Smolensk region since the activities of the “accused” in the article “Yuri Vasiliev” Lydia Leonova, who, according to “Vasiliev”, represents the interests of the Patriarch, are connected with it in court on the “housing issue”.

We managed to find out the following. Patriarch Kirill has neither the opportunity nor the desire to purchase apartments in the center of Moscow or anywhere else; he lives by the faith and mission of the Church. Apartment on the street Serafimovich really belongs to His Holiness, it was presented to him by the Moscow Government during his time as Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Head of the DECR MP. The apartment houses the library of Father Patriarch Kirill, numbering more than 3 thousand volumes. Shevchenko really caused enormous damage to the library with his repairs.

There is nothing in this information that compromises or casts a shadow on Patriarch Kirill.

In Smolensk, many asked me to defend the honor and dignity of Lydia Leonova, over whom Yu. Vasiliev,” simply slanders her. Lydia Mikhailovna Leonova, cousin of His Holiness, a sincerely believing Orthodox Christian, living as a “nun in the world”, who gave up her career in St. Petersburg to help establish the Smolensk diocese, when the rector of the Leningrad Theological Schools, Vladyka Kirill, now Patriarch, was sent there into “disgrace” Moscow and all Rus' [...]

The person whom the anti-church media portrays as a “victim of the Patriarch”, in reality, is least of all like an “unfortunate victim.” It's about about the priest Yuri Shevchenko, former Minister of Health of the Russian Federation. The fact is that Patriarch Kirill began systematic work on missionary revival and internal cleansing of the Russian Church. Including from persons who have occupied a position of authority due to external interference. The fact is that the special services of “independent Ukraine,” trying to tear the Ukrainian Church away from the Russian Church, tried to support those individuals within the church fence who could be “kept on the hook” and blackmailed the entire Church with them. Patriarch Kirill, as you know, does not tolerate such “deeds”; he will go into any battle for the Church. Apparently, this is connected with the removal of Bishop Gury (Kuzmenko) from the Zhitomir see, about whose non-traditional orientation the Hierarchy of the Russian Church learned and rightly took measures. So, rightly, questions arose. Why did priest Yuri Kuzmenko go to Gury to be ordained? If everything is fine, then why did Patriarch Alexy II refuse to ordain him? Why did Yu. Shevchenko go to study at the distant Tashent Seminary, although there are several worthy Theological schools in Moscow - a seminary, an academy, and St. Tikhon's University.

No one accused O. Shevchenko, the Moscow Patriarchate simply decided to check his canonical status. And he suddenly decided to “strike first” and contacted various CIA-swamp, openly anti-Russian media. Or, the “curators” of these anti-Russian media, “specialists in Russian elites” had something to blackmail Fr. Yuri Shevchenko, and with the help of blackmail they forced him to enter into battle with Patriarch Kirill, who is so disturbing them.

As it turned out, there is something to check - Yu. Shevchenko heads an institution that performs abortions.

These are the people they use to fight Patriarch Kirill.

By the way, it is no coincidence that I mentioned the patented leader of the “Suzdal schism” Sevastyan Zhakov, who served time for homosexual pedophilia. The fact is that the Russian “gay community” actively supports the “Swamp Revolution” and is fighting against Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Church, Vladimir Putin and the Go team. Consider the statements of the leader of the “struggle for the rights of sexual minorities” N. Alekseev about the demolition of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, as well as the activities of the correspondent of the anti-Russian, anti-church “Novaya Gazeta” E. Kostyuchenko in support of the blasphemous action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. N. Aleksev also campaigned in the presidential elections for M. Prokhorov, who promised to expel the Church from the education system. On this topic, the famous Orthodox journalist and blogger Natalya Kuznetsova-Godfrey:

The unemployed Anton Krasovsky, who headed the election headquarters of his comrade-in-arms in orientation and hatred of Orthodoxy, spreads slander and enjoys mocking His Holiness the Patriarch in the form of comments from his working fellow tribesmen who are the same on the criminal article. […]

Thus, the slanderous campaign against His Holiness Patriarch Kirill is not only anti-church, but also anti-Russian, anti-Russian campaign, active participation which hosts the leaders of the “swamp revolution” and the “gay community” - this vanguard of the destruction of our values ​​and family. Without Orthodox values, Russia and Russians can be taken with bare hands, and if the institution of family is destroyed, Russians will simply die out, and the Church in the lava with the active missionary Patriarch Kirill does not allow to destroy what has not yet been destroyed and is trying to revive the people who cannot be saved without churching from alcoholism, abortion, drugs, propaganda of cynicism, anti-patriotism and other weapons of his murder. That’s why Belkovsky is so confused by the terms “Orthodox immission”, “program -200”, etc.

They are also taking revenge on Patriarch Kirill for disrupting the “orange scenario” of opposing the Church to the state. […] Patriarch Kirill, “both holy and skilled,” understands well who is who and what is what, and therefore supported Vladimir Putin, and not the “collective Berezovsky.” […]

The Pope has already renounced the cross,
and Patriarch Kirill improved it!

Earlier we already noticed the strange gesture of Pope Francis... who replaced his Cross with Jesus... with a certain shepherd of the Flock (cattle?)

However, an equally “strange” fact from the biography of Patriarch Kirill became known - it turns out that his mother had a maiden name of Vekselman! And this means that our patriarch is from the Russian Orthodox Church... - halakhic Jew(!) Well, this then explains a lot (his servile “meeting” with Pope Francis, in particular!)... as well as the “improved” cross on the Head of the Patriarch, as well as the disadvantage general education and a MORE THAN STRANGE attraction to ecumenism.

Quote: “... Let us at least remember the speech on September 21, 2010 by Metropolitan Kirill - Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev, who publicly called the Slavs beasts. And this becomes understandable and explainable if you know the maiden name of Kirill’s mother – Vekselman. Everything comes primarily from the human gene pool. If a person is half-animal by nature, he will behave accordingly...”

Vladimir Gundyaev - Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church (Stages of the Great Path!)

1) BEFORE you start your church activities graduated from eight grades of high school. He also tried himself in geology - from 1962 he worked as a cartographic technician in the Leningrad Geological Expedition. After three years of fruitful work, he entered the theological seminary, and upon graduation, entered the Theological Academy of the city of Leningrad.

In 1969, Vladimir was tonsured a monk and named Kirill. A year later, he graduated from the academy with honors, having a candidate's degree in theology. In 1971, Hieromonk Kirill was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. A great achievement of his path was the appointment of Kirill as the representative of the Moscow Patriarch in Geneva, where the World Council of Churches is taking place. (more than a strange and dizzying career in 2 years from a simple monk to an archimandrite!!!)

One of the first scandals that arose with the mention of the name of Metropolitan Kirill was the case of the use tax benefits for the import of alcohol and tobacco products in the early 90s. Novaya Gazeta published an article that spoke of the Metropolitan’s personal interest in transactions for the import of excisable goods. However, the vast majority of religious leaders said that this was nothing more than a provocation; a planned campaign that aims to tarnish the name of an honest man.

Metropolitan Kirill was also accused of having connections with the KGB. In 2003, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin received a letter that directly stated that Kirill was a KGB agent. The author of the letter was a priest of the Moscow Helsinki Group, but his provocation did not bring any results.

In 2012, a new scandal arose with the name of Patriarch Kirill related to the apartment he owned. His second cousin, registered with the Patriarch, sued her neighbor because, according to her, construction dust from his apartment contained harmful substances and was hazardous to health. The total amount of damage was about 20 million rubles. The Patriarch himself, in response to thorny questions about the vow of non-covetousness replied that he personally had nothing to do with his sister’s lawsuit. He considers all the noise raised on this issue aimed at undermining his authority and humiliating the Russian Orthodox Church as a whole.

In the church there are very strict canons and laws, to violate which means to place yourself both outside the church and outside Christ.

However, these canons are very calmly violated by the last two “patriarchs”, both the departed Ridiger and the scandalous and odious Gundyaev.

The Orthodox shrug their shoulders, but..... remain silent.

Only recently did part of the priesthood come out against ecumenism, which has been developing in the Russian Orthodox Church since the 60s.

Few people know that Gundyaev’s spiritual teacher was the blue Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​who died as an ardent heretic at the feet of the Pope.
This is the same Nicodemus to whom one saint predicted during his lifetime: “You will die like a dog at the feet of the Pope.”
This is what it is now - the “Russian Church”.......

Not long ago, Izhevsk priests spoke out against the ecumenists (only against the ecumenists).

Gundyaev and his clique “excommunicated” them, and just like in the USSR, this entire flock of the false patriarch rallied around their “great master” the heretic Gundyaev and began barking in unison, drooling, red eyes lit up, claws and tails with teeth in their robes vigorously. scratched the ground.
There is a strong smell of sulfur, feces and smoke.
The heirs of communism became enraged en masse.

This whole pack of post-communist dogs felt that their thrones were shaking under them, that they were threatening to lose huge money to rich false bishops and priests in the MP.
The Mercedes and Bentleys in the palaces of these monks lurk in horror.

These are not poor rural priests from some unknown Udmurtia.
The well-fed does not understand the hungry - Moscow has its own problems, jamon, parmesan, moth in fur storage, small pearls, risotto and kohlrabi with Roquefort are not the same.....

Blessed are those who were exiled for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven - so said the Lord Himself.

If we look at other mortal sins of Gundyaev and others like him, we will see that the Russian Orthodox Church has not been in the country for a long time.

It’s not a wonder - what kind of Russian church can there be under the foreign regime of Putin’s foreigners in the Kremlin!

Gundyaev accepts Golden Apple from the hands of a New York rabbi

Rules of St. Apostle

62. If anyone from the clergy, fearing a man, a Jew, or a Greek, or a heretic, renounces the name of Christ: let him be rejected from the church.

65. If anyone from the clergy or layman enters a Jewish or heretical synagogue to pray: let him be expelled from the sacred rank and excommunicated from church communion.

70. If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or in general from the list of clergy, fasts with the Jews, or celebrates with them, or accepts from them the gifts of their holidays, such as unleavened bread or something similar: let him be cast out. If he is a layman, let him be excommunicated.

Gundyaev in the Moscow synagogue

Saint Anthony the Great (+358): “The time will come, my children, when the monks will leave the deserts and flow instead to rich cities, where instead of these deserted caves and cramped cells, proud buildings will be erected that can rival the chambers of kings; instead of poverty, the love of collecting wealth will increase; humility will be replaced by pride; many will be proud of knowledge, but naked, alien to good deeds corresponding to knowledge; love will grow cold; instead of abstinence, gluttony will increase, and many of them will care about luxurious dishes no less than the laity themselves, from whom the monks will not differ in anything other than their attire and headpiece, and, despite the fact that they will live among the laity, they will call themselves solitaries . Moreover, they will magnify themselves, saying: I am Pavlov, I am Apollosov, as if the whole strength of their monasticism lies in the dignity of their predecessors; they will be magnified by their fathers, as the Jews were by their father Abraham. But at that time there will also be those who will turn out to be much better and more perfect than us; for more blessed is he who could have transgressed, and did not transgress, and did evil, and did not do it, than he who was attracted to good by the mass of zealots striving for it.”

Saint Niphon of Constantinople (XV century): “In the last time, those who will truly serve God will safely hide themselves from people and will not perform signs and wonders among them, as at the present time, but will follow the path of work, dissolved in humility, and in the Kingdom There will be more Fathers in heaven, glorified by signs. My son! Until the end of the century the saints will not be destitute! But in last years They will hide from people and will please God in such humility that they will appear in the Kingdom of Heaven higher than the first miraculous fathers. And such a reward will be for them because in those days there will be no one before their eyes who would work miracles, and people themselves will accept the zeal and fear of God in their hearts, for at that time the rank of bishop will not be skillful and will not become to love wisdom and reason, but will only care about self-interest. Monks will be like them from the possession of large estates; because of vain glory the eyes of their souls will be darkened, and they will be despised lovers of God with all my heart; the love of money will reign in them with all its strength. But woe to the monks who love gold: they will not see the Face of God! Monks and Belets, who give gold at interest, if they do not quickly stop this evil, will be called covetous here too, and their prayer will not be accepted, and fasting without benefit, and offering sacrifices to God, and alms - everything will be counted against them as abomination and defilement. They will walk along the broad path... But I don’t want to talk much about them. For I myself, from youth to old age, did not care about my salvation. Know then that all evil will increase from ignorance of the Scriptures.”

Famous German magazine "Stern" due to the dense ignorance of its employees at one time - back when His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited Germany in the rank of Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad - told readers about the family and personal life monk Kirill. And about a cozy house in Switzerland, and about his passion for alpine skiing and driving fast sports cars, and about his wife, and even about children and dogs... And out of great respect, he even named Father Kirill, neither more nor less, but "an excellent family man".

It must be said that Lydia is a faithful common-law wife and the same age as His Holiness, and not a young “kept woman - a pampered girl.” She and “Holiness” gave birth to good and smart children. Another thing is why the Russian Orthodox Church does not tell the truth and why does Lydia continue to have a tobacco (from the devil) business? Why does the Russian Orthodox Church consider ordinary conception (a gift from the Almighty) to be flawed?

What unchrists! No, to call the PR service of the Patriarchate and find out how to do it Right tell readers about the difficult hermitic prayer life of high-ranking monks! Well, by God, like little Samoyeds - “what I see is what I sing!”

As a result, ever since then, all sorts of blasphemers and ahalniks have been “persuading” the poor Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova in all conceivable cases. Even His Holiness himself, in connection with the recent apartment scandal, was forced to make excuses - they say, she is not my wife, but just a fighting friend, registered in the same living space with me. This, they say, is my sister, like, “a nun in the world.” When he said “sister,” it must be assumed that he meant, of course, not his only sister Elena in the whole world, but a “sister” in faith, in the spirit of entrepreneurship. After all, he usually addresses everyone like this: “Brothers and sisters!” Therefore, Lydia Leonova is also his “sister,” although not his own.

Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova- (01/27/1947) - “A nun in the world”, who for 38 years - since the distant “Soviet” year of 1974 - has been relentlessly accompanying monk Kirill through life. She moves with him to all new places of residence, accompanies him on trips and participates in his commercial enterprises. According to spiteful critics, more than 300 tobacco commercial organizations were registered in her name. It was Lydia Mikhailovna that the Stern employees had in mind when they called Kirill “an excellent family man,” and it is she who is now officially registered in the apartment and lives together with the monk Vladimir Gundyaev.

And here’s how Alexander Soldatov, editor-in-chief of the independent network resource “Portal-Credo.Ru”, tells about this in an interview with Yuri Vasiliev (03/23/2012): “ Question: The option with the sister was discussed above. Is there a more or less official explanation of who Lidia Leonova is related to monk Kirill? Except for the communal neighbor, of course. Answer: Official historiography is silent about Mrs. Leonova. ... There is an unofficial historiography that dates back to the publication of the German magazine Stern around 1993-1994, where Metropolitan Kirill is described as an “exemplary family man.” And it is even stated that he has children. Below is our portal with a link to different sources- in particular, on Sergei Bychkov from Moskovsky Komsomolets, who conducted various investigations concerning the life of the future patriarch - for several years he wrote 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. ... ever since then she has accompanied him everywhere - she lived in Smolensk and now in Moscow. Therefore, the word “sister” may be worth understanding in spiritual sense, and not in the physiological." (http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/article/24525100.html).

Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva- real and the only one sister of the Holy One. She dedicated her life to the Church, worked for many years as the director of an Orthodox gymnasium and is proud of her brother.

However, not only the Germans, but also the patriarchal “eccentrics” also do not catch mice (their business acumen is not the same as that of Kirill himself!). No, in order to quickly clean up all the biographical “apocrypha”, they left them that way to this day - they say that Kirill has only a sister, Elena the pilgrim, and only a brother, Nikolai, the pilgrim.

The rich biography of Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev interests many Orthodox people. The head of the Russian church has written a large number of books and articles and is an active reader of Internet pages and publications. He appeared on television in a series of programs called “The Word of the Shepherd.” He is the first patriarch born in the USSR. Before taking the rank he was Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'

Biography of Patriarch Kirill

Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev was born on November 20, 1946 in the city of Leningrad. There is an opinion that the patriarch’s ancestors come from a village called Obrochnoe, which today is part of Mordovia.

• His father Mikhail was the chief mechanic of the plant, and later became a priest and archpriest. He studied theology courses, served in the Soviet Army for two years, and then graduated from technical school and entered a local institute. He was convicted of political disloyalty and served a three-year sentence in Kolyma. In 1947, Father Kirill was ordained a deacon, and soon to the rank of priest.
• The grandfather of the future patriarch lived in prison for 30 years and is considered one of the first to serve time in the Solovetsky special purpose camp. He worked as a railway driver and was convicted of opposing Orthodox renewal (attempts to modernize the church by the Communists).
• The mother of the future patriarch was born in 1909 and worked as a school teacher of German.

Vladimir graduated from 8 classes of secondary school and entered a geological organization, where he worked as a cartographic technician. For religious reasons, he refused to become a pioneer. In 1965, Vladimir entered the theological seminary, and later the academy, from which he graduated with excellent grades. After defending his dissertation, he remained a teacher of theology and a special assistant to the inspector.

On a note! During his student years, Vladimir Gundyaev was an energetic activist. He participated in the congress on the theme of universal Christianity and was the permanent chairman of the youth commission.

Priesthood period

In 1969, Vladimir Gundyaev was tonsured a monk and given his second name - Kirill. Within two months he received the ranks of hierodeacon and hieromonk. Two years later, Kirill was ordained to the rank of church archimandrite. At a religious council held in Geneva, he was appointed representative of the patriarchy in the capital.

Patriarch Kirill in his youth

• When Cyril turned 28 years old, the saint received the position of rector at the theological seminary. The future patriarch also created a special class for believing girls who would become mothers in the future.
• In 1976, the archimandrite was consecrated to the high rank of Bishop of Vyborg. The ordination took place within the walls of the Trinity Cathedral. The metropolitans of Leningrad, Kyiv, Tula and many other high-ranking priests came to praise the new bishop.
• For two years, Kirill served as deputy to Metropolitan Nikodim. He soon became an archbishop, and six months later he was appointed manager of the Finnish patriarchal parish.
• Since 1983, Kirill has been working as a teacher at a theological seminary located in Moscow. At the end of December 1984, the holy father was appointed archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazma.
• The future patriarch refused to vote against the resolution, which criticized military actions in Afghanistan.
• In 1989, Kirill was accepted as a permanent member of the Holy Synod.
• In 1991, the saint became metropolitan thanks to a special decree of Alexy II.
• In the period from 93 to 95. he receives many leadership positions in religious conferences. In 1994, Kirill began conducting an educational religious program called “The Word of the Shepherd.”
• Until 2000, Kirill worked as chairman of a group that found solutions to society's problems. The saint is entrusted with leadership in developing special concepts for the Orthodox tradition.

Read also about Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow:

According to church canons, the saint has no right to marry, but he loves children very much. The patriarch devotes a large amount of time to charitable activities and is extremely concerned about orphans. Kirill has an active political position and is not afraid to express his own opinion.

Election of the head of the Church

The secret vote held to select a new patriarch took place in early February 2008, immediately after the death of St. Alexy II. Saint Cyril was chosen as temporary patriarch, and at the end of the ritual all-night vigil he led the funeral service.

• Five days later he became the head of the commission for the special preparation of Councils, which included three dozen monks and two laymen. At the end of the month, Kirill announced a categorical refusal of any innovations in the Church. In a conversation with students of the theological seminary, he noted: “Pre-revolutionary Orthodoxy always lacked a strong religious intelligentsia.”
• At the beginning of 2009, Kirill officially congratulated Barack Obama on receiving the US presidency.

Kirill (Patriarch of Moscow)

• A week later, Kirill, who received 75% of the votes, was elected Patriarch of Rus'. President D. Medvedev congratulated him on his elevation to the church throne, who wished for the development of friendly relations between the government and the Church. Special attention V. Putin and Pope Benedict XVI, as well as many other secular and religious personalities, showed this fact.
• The official enthronement to the patriarchal rank took place in early February 2009 at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Church activities of Kirill in the rank of patriarch

In February 2009, the saint appeared before the president in the Kremlin and spoke about his own vision of the ideal relationship between the government of the Russian Federation and the Orthodox Church.

• In March of this year, he criticized radical Christian preachers who seek to limit the faith of other faiths. However, this speech caused bewilderment among a number of Orthodox people. Soon, Patriarch Kirill urgently called for an increase in moral standards, and not simply an increase in the number of parishioners in churches.
• In April 2009, the saint met with Yu. Timoshenko and insisted that Kyiv is a real Constantinople and spiritual center for Orthodoxy. In July he made his first visit abroad and was favorably received in Turkey. Kirill discussed establishing relations between the churches of the two countries.
• His “pastoral” visit to Ukraine was accompanied by minor street riots in Kyiv, some non-canonical organizations staged protest demonstrations. Speaking in the main temple of Kyiv, Kirill criticized the ideas of the Renaissance and the philosophy of liberalism, which negatively influenced Western Christianity.
• In September 2009, the patriarch visited friendly Belarus and had a conversation with A. Lukashenko. Issues of strengthening relations between fraternal countries were discussed at the meeting. He announced to the people that the Moscow Church was not going to limit Orthodoxy to the borders formed after the collapse of the USSR.

ABOUT church life Christian:

Subsequent periods of the patriarchate

In 2010, Kirill, in his own report, spoke about improving relations with Catholicism. Orthodox Patriarch noted that the positions of the churches converge on many points.

Meeting of Patriarch Kirill with Pope Francis

In the same month, he performed a prayer service within the walls of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, addressing the new president of Ukraine with religious parting words.

• Patriarch Kirill calmed the discontent of Kaliningrad Catholics, who protested against the transfer of their cathedrals to the ownership of the Russian Orthodox Church.
• In 2012, the saint publicly made a statement that the Church was under powerful pressure from information and anti-religious corporations. The most impudent protest against Orthodoxy was the scandalous Pussy Riot project.
• In 2012, Kirill made a church and, at the same time, political visit to Catholic Poland. The dialogue was the first step leading to the settlement of religious relations between the two countries. The Vatican showed official approval of these actions, which culminated in the signing of the Message to the Slavic peoples on reconciliation.
• In June 2013, the head of the Russian church visited the Holy Trinity Cathedral under construction in the capital of Greece, and in September the patriarch was in Transnistria, where he was accompanied by a large delegation of bishops from other countries.
• In 2016, Kirill met with Francis in Havana, Cuba. As a result of this fateful meeting a joint agreement was signed. In September, the saint supported the legislative initiative of citizens to abolish abortion in the Russian Federation.

Social activity

In 1995, Kirill received membership in the council considering the situation in Chechnya. In May of the same year, he became an employee of the commission that issues prizes in literary fields. Over the years, the saint received membership in various cultural and religious organizations.

• In 2005, Kirill supported Yu. Luzhkov in his reluctance to hold a parade of homosexuals on the streets of Moscow. However, he stated that the Orthodox Church does not intend to persecute sexual minorities.
• In May 2009, as patriarch, he opened a council that examined the causes of moral decline in the Russian Federation and possible ways to overcome it.
• In 2010, Kirill expressed regret about the large number of deaths on the roads and stated that modern people are not able to rationally use the forces of mechanics and not cause great harm to themselves and others.
• In 2011, at the Assumption Cathedral, he officially announced the tasks of the Orthodox Church: it must educate a believer who is not afraid to make sacrifices and deeds. The priesthood is obliged to pray, and an appropriate social field must be created around them (education, plenty of work and order in populated areas).

The saint wrote several educational books, the very first of which dates back to 1971. In his writings, he examines the problems church dogmas, the attitude of modernity to the Church, and also describes personal activities in the patriarchal rank.

On a note! St. Cyril was accused several times by certain individuals. In the late 90s, he was credited with illegally using tax returns for secret imports of alcohol and tobacco products. Bishop Diomede called the saint one who feeds from the Vatican and profits from Western-sponsored banks. In 2003, St. Cyril was publicly accused of having connections with the KGB. However, complete evidence was never provided.

At a celebration in the Church of Christ the Savior, the Patriarch noted the enormous role of Orthodox printing in the development of true religiosity. He remembered that our ancestors were brought up on Sacred Texts and the lives of saints. The head of the church urged his contemporaries to read religious books in order to distinguish morality from criminal sinfulness.

“Life in Service” Film for the 65th anniversary of Patriarch Kirill