21st-century primate of the Russian Orthodox Church
Kirill
Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
Patriarch Kirill in 2023
Native name
Кирилл
Church
Russian Orthodox Church
See
Moscow
Installed
1 February 2009
Predecessor
Alexy II
Orders
Ordination
7 April 1969
Consecration
14 March 1976 by Nikodim (Rotov)
Personal details
Born
Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev
(1946-11-20) 20 November 1946 (age 77)
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Denomination
Eastern Orthodox Church
Alma mater
Leningrad Theological Academy
Signature
Coat of arms
Kirill or Cyril (Russian: Кирилл, Church Slavonic: Ст҃ѣ́йшїй патрїа́рхъ кѷрі́ллъ, secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, Russian: Владимир Михайлович Гундяев; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009.
Styles of Patriarch Kirill
Reference style
His Holiness
Spoken style
Your Holiness
Religious style
Patriarch
Prior to becoming Patriarch, Kirill was Archbishop (later Metropolitan) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and also Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations. He has been a permanent member of the Holy Synod since 1989.
A close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Kirill has described Putin's rule as "a miracle of God".[1] According to Putin, Kirill's father baptized him.[1] During his tenure as Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus', Kirill has brought the Russian Orthodox Church closer to the Russian state.[2] Kirill's relationship with Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch and the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, has been tense.[3] After Kirill lauded the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, clergy in other Orthodox Churches condemned his remarks, with Bartholomew I saying that Kirill's support for Putin and the war were "damaging to the prestige of the whole of Orthodoxy".[3]
^ abNetburn, Deborah (29 March 2022). "A spiritual defense of the war in Ukraine? Putin's patriarch is trying". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
^Cichowlas, Ola (14 April 2017). "Patriarch Kirill: From Ambitious Reformer to State Hardliner". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
^ abMacFarquhar, Neil; Kishkovsky, Sophia (18 April 2022). "Ukraine War Divides Orthodox Faithful". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
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