| Revision as of 11:58, 4 February 2013 view sourceЧръный человек (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,891 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 12:02, 4 February 2013 view source Чръный человек (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,891 editsNo edit summaryNext edit → | ||
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| === Dust of the patriarch flat === | === Dust of the patriarch flat === | ||
| In March 2012, the former RF Health minister (1999–2004) ], pursuant to the court ruling, paid about 20 million rubles ($676,000) in compensation for the dust resultant from the renovation work that had settled in a flat upstairs in the prestigious ] privately owned by Patriarch Kirill and occupied by the Patriarch's long-time friend businesswoman |
In March 2012, the former RF Health minister (1999–2004) ], pursuant to the court ruling, paid about 20 million rubles ($676,000) in compensation for the dust resultant from the renovation work that had settled in a flat upstairs in the prestigious ] privately owned by Patriarch Kirill and occupied by the Patriarch's long-time friend businesswoman Lidia Leonova.<ref> ], 14 April 2012 (paper edition).</ref><ref></ref><ref> ], 9 April 2012</ref> According to the media reports, the former minister is personally acquainted with the then RF prime-minister ].<ref></ref> | ||
| "I sold my apartment in St. Petersburg, and we paid the required sum", said Shevchenko's son, also Yury, in early April 2012.<ref></ref> | "I sold my apartment in St. Petersburg, and we paid the required sum", said Shevchenko's son, also Yury, in early April 2012.<ref></ref> | ||
Revision as of 12:02, 4 February 2013
| Kirill | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus' | |
 Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus', at his enthronement on 1 February 2009 | |
| Church | Russian Orthodox Church |
| See | Moscow |
| Installed | 1 February 2009 |
| Term ended | Incumbent |
| Predecessor | Alexy II |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 7 April 1969 |
| Consecration | 14 March 1976 by Nikodim of Leningrad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev (1946-11-20) 20 November 1946 (age 78) Leningrad, Soviet Union |
| Profession | Civil Servant |
Kirill or Cyril (Template:Lang-ru, secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, Template:Lang-ru; born 20 November 1946, Leningrad) is a Russian Orthodox bishop who has been Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1 February 2009.
Prior to becoming Patriarch, Kirill was Archbishop (later Metropolitan) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad beginning on 26 December 1984; and also Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod beginning in November 1989.
Early life
Family
He was born in Leningrad. His father, Rev. Mikhail V. Gundyaev, died in 1974. His mother, Raisa V. Gundyaeva, a teacher of German, died in 1984. His elder brother, Archpriest Nikolay Gundyaev, is a professor at Leningrad Theological Academy and rector of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. His grandfather, Rev. Vasily S. Gundyaev, a Solovki prisoner, was imprisoned and exiled in the 20s, 30s and 40s for his church activity and struggle against Renovationism.
Schooling
After finishing the secondary school eighth grade, Vladimir Gundyaev got a job in the Leningrad Geological Expedition and worked for it from 1962 to 1965 as cartographer, combining work with studies at secondary school. As a young man he was a talented basketball player. After graduation from school, he entered the Leningrad Seminary and later the Leningrad Theological Academy, from which he graduated cum laude in 1970.
Life in the Church
On 3 April 1969, Metropolitan Nicodem (Rotov) of Leningrad and Novgorod tonsured him with the name of Kirill and on April 7 ordained him as hierodeacon and on June 1 as hieromonk.
From 1970 to 1971 Father Kirill taught Dogmatic Theology and acted as rector’s assistant for students’ affairs at the Leningrad Theological Schools and at the same time worked as personal secretary to Metropolitan Nicodem and supervising instructor of the first-grade seminarians.
Episcopal Ministry
Archimandrite
On 12 September 1971, Kirill was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and was posted as a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva. On 26 December 1974, he was appointed rector of the Leningrad Academy and Seminary. Since December 1975, he has been a member of the WCC Central Committee and Executive Committee.
In 1971 he was appointed representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches and has been actively involved in the ecumenical activity of the Russian Orthodox Church since then.
Archbishop
- On 14 March 1976, Archimandrite Kirill was consecrated Bishop of Vyborg, Vicar of the Leningrad diocese.
- On 2 September 1977, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
- From 26 December 1984, he was Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazma.
- From 1986 – administrator of the parishes in the Kaliningrad Region.
- From 1988 he became Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.
- On 13 November 1989, he was appointed chairman of the department for external church relations and permanent member of the Holy Synod.
- On 25 February 1991, Archbishop Kirill was elevated to the rank of metropolitan.
- On 6 December 2008, the day after the death of Patriarch Alexy II, the Russian Holy Synod elected him locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne. On 9 December, during the funeral service for Alexy II in Christ the Saviour Cathedral (which was broadcast live by Russia’s state TV channels), he was seen and reported to have fainted at one point. On 29 December, when talking to journalists, he said he was opposed to any reforms of a liturgical or doctrinal nature in the Church.
The Supreme Authority of the Church charged His Eminence Kirill with the following functions:
- from 1975 to 1982 – chairman of the Leningrad Diocesan Council;
- from 1975 to 1998 – member of the Central and Executive Committees of the World Council of Churches;
- from 1976 to 1978 – deputy Patriarchal Exarch for Western Europe;
- from 1976 to 1984 – member of the Holy Synod commission for Christian unity;
- from 1978 to 1984 – administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Finland;
- from 1978 to 1988 – member of the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia preparatory commission;
- in 1990 – member of the preparatory commission for the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church;
- in 1990 – member of the commission for assistance in overcoming the consequences of the Chernobyl accident;
- from 1989 to 1996 – administrator of the Hungarian Orthodox deanery;
- from 1990 to 1991 – temporary administrator of the diocese of the Hague and Netherlands;
- from 1990 to 1993 – temporary administrator of the diocese of Korsun;
- from 1990 to 1993 – chairman of the Holy Synod commission for reviving religious and moral.
Education and Charity
- from 1990 to 2000 – chairman of the Holy Synod commission for amendments to the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Statute was *adopted by the Jubilee Bishops’ Council in 2000.
- from 1994 to 2002 – member of the public board for restoration of the Church of Christ the Saviour;
- from 1994 to 1996 – member of Russian Foreign Ministry council for foreign policy;
- from 1995 to 2000 – chairman of the Synodal working group for elaborating a Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on church-state *relations and problems of modern society as a whole.
- from 1995 to 1999 – member of the Russian organizing committee for events commemorating the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War;
- from 1996 to 2000 – member of the supervisory board of the 50th Anniversary of the Victory foundation;
- from 2006 to 2008 – leader of the working group for elaborating a Basic Teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church on Human Dignity, Freedom and Rights.
- since 2008 – chairman of the Economy and Ethics experts council under the department for external church relations (now the Economy and Ethics experts council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia).
- On 27 January 2006, Kirill was given the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky by Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia.
Communications
Since 1994 Kirill has hosted a weekly Orthodox television program "Слово пастыря" on ORT/Channel One.
Public controversies
Main article: Controversies of Kirill I of Moscow
Ecumenism
The conservative wing in the Russian Orthodox Church criticized Kirill for practicing ecumenism throughout the 1990s. In 2008, breakaway Bishop Diomid of Anadyr and Chukotka criticized him for associating himself with the Catholic Church. However, in a recent statement, Kirill stated that there could be no doctrinal compromise with the Catholic Church, and that discussions with them did not have the goal of seeking unification.
Still, recent visits with Benedict XVI have been characterized by great warmth and mutual respect with relations between the churches following. In 2012, Kirill´s visit to Poland advanced greatly relations with the Roman Catholic hierarchy of Poland. Visits and encounters with Roman Catholics in Russia and abroad continue to enjoy support, if tacit, from many Orthodox clergy and lay people.
Foreign Relations
On 20 October 2008, while on a tour of Latin America, he had a meeting with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Fidel Castro. Castro commended Metropolitan Kirill as his ally in combating "American imperialism". Kirill awarded Fidel and Raúl Castro the Order of St. Daniel of Moscow on behalf of Patriarch Alexy II in recognition of their decision to build the first Russian Orthodox Church in Havana, to serve the Russian expatriates living there.
He was criticised by some for the ROC's failures in the Diocese of Sourozh and Ukraine.
Kirill "heartily congratulated" Alexander Lukashenko for winning the Belarusian presidency in 2010 by an apparent 80% majority, in elections marred by violence and accusations of intimidation and vote rigging.
Relations with the State
When Kirill was elected Patriarch on 27 January 2009, at the ROC Local Council, and enthroned during liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Moscow on 1 February 2009 the service was attended, among others, by President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The following day, Russia President Dmitry Medvedev hosted a reception (a formal banquet) for the ROC bishops in the Grand Kremlin Palace, whereat Patriarch Kirill held forth about the Byzantine concept of symphonia as his vision of the ideal of church-state relations, though acknowledging that it was not possible to fully attain to it in Russia today.
On 8 February 2012 at a meeting of religious leaders in Moscow, Kirill described the Putin era as "a miracle of God" and criticised his opponents. He said that those who were demonstrating for democratic reform and the rule of law were emitting "ear piercing shrieks"
Links with the KGB
In the early 1990s and later on, Kirill was accused of having links to the KGB during much of the Soviet period, as were many members of the Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy, and of pursuing the state’s interests before those of the Church. His alleged KGB agent’s codename was "Mikhailov".
Importation of cigarettes
Journalists of the newspapers Kommersant and Moskovskij Komsomolets accused Kirill of profiteering and abuse of the privilege of duty-free importation of cigarettes granted to the Church in the mid-1990s and dubbed him "Tobacco Metropolitan". The Department for External Church Relations was alleged to have acted as the largest supplier of foreign cigarettes in Russia. Kirill’s personal wealth was estimated to be $1.5 billion by sociologist Nikolai Mitrokhin in 2004, and at $4 billion by The Moscow News in 2006. However, Nathaniel Davis noted that "...There is no evidence that Metropolitan Kirill has actually embezzled funds. What is more likely is that profits from the importation of tobacco and cigarettes have been used for urgent, pressing Church expenses." The duty-free importation of cigarettes ended in 1997. In his 2002 interview with Izvestia, Metropolitan Kirill called the allegations about his profiteering a political campaign against him.
Pussy Riot
Three female members of an anarchist artistic group called Pussy Riot were arrested in March 2012 for performing a brief song in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow during which they called on the Virgin Mary to "chase Putin out". The women were arrested for hooliganism and were later sentenced to two years. Commenting on the case, Kirill said they were "doing the work of Satan" and should be punished. This sparked criticism of the Orthodox Church on the Runet for not showing mercy, while Amnesty International described the women as "prisoners of conscience". In their closing statements, members of Pussy Riot claimed that Patriarch Kirill had used the church to support the cultural position of Putin's government.
Dust of the patriarch flat
In March 2012, the former RF Health minister (1999–2004) Yury Shevchenko, pursuant to the court ruling, paid about 20 million rubles ($676,000) in compensation for the dust resultant from the renovation work that had settled in a flat upstairs in the prestigious House on the Embankment privately owned by Patriarch Kirill and occupied by the Patriarch's long-time friend businesswoman Lidia Leonova. According to the media reports, the former minister is personally acquainted with the then RF prime-minister Vladimir Putin.
"I sold my apartment in St. Petersburg, and we paid the required sum", said Shevchenko's son, also Yury, in early April 2012.
According to the lawsuit, renovation works in Shevchenko's apartment stirred up a lot of dust, which settled on a collection of valuable books owned by Kirill. The Patriarch confirmed his ownership of the dusty apartment in a private conversation with journalist Vladimir Solovyov.
Most of the reports in the media tended to be critical of Patriarch Kirill and laughing at the claims that the dust was harmful, pointing out that it was just sand and it would have been far more efficient to just hire a maid to vacuum it up. The Patriarch himself then said he thought it to be inappropriate to forgive Shevchenko.
The airbrushed out Breguet watch
When accused of wearing a Swiss Breguet watch worth over £20,000, Kirill denied having worn it, saying that any photographs showing him wearing it must be fakes. However, photographs on his official website showed it on his wrist and one even showed it airbrushed out, but with a reflection of it still visible on a table surface. Kirill responded by saying that "the guilty ones will be punished severely". A spokesperson added that it was "unethical" to discuss Kirill's private life, and the Russian Orthodox Church said on 4 April 2012 that foreign forces were taking revenge on it for supporting Putin: "The attacks have become more prominent during the pre-election and post-election period shows their political and also anti-Russian motives." In June 2012, Kirill was given the Silver Shoe Award (given in Russia each year “for the most dubious achievements in show business") for "immaculate disappearance of a watch” in the category "Miracles up to the elbows”. The award found a pained reaction from representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Honours and awards
Church awards
- Russian Orthodox Church
- Order of St. Prince Vladimir 2nd class (16 September 1973)
- Order of St. Sergius, 1st and 2nd class
- Order of the Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow, 1st class
- Order of St. Innocent Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, 2nd class
- Order of St. Alexis the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, 2nd class
- Named Panagia (1988) – for active participation in the preparation and conduct of the Jubilee celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of Christianity in Russia
- Order of Saint Anthony and Theodosius of the Caves, 1st class (UOC-MP, 2006)
- Order of Saint Stephen the Great pious governor, 2nd class (Orthodox Church of Moldova, 2006) – in recognition of diligent service, and the glory of the Orthodox Church in Moldova
- Silver Jubilee Medal of St. Apostle Peter (St. Petersburg diocese, 2003)
- Order in honour of the 450th anniversary of bringing the land Pochayiv Volyn icons (UOC-MP, 2009)
- Order of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 2011)
- Awards of local orthodox churches
- Order of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Georgian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Hellenic, Poland, the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Finland and America.
- Order of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, I degree (Antiochian Orthodox Church, 2011)
- Gold Medal of St. Innocent (2009, The Orthodox Church in America)
- Awards of other churches and denominations
- The Order of St. Gregory Parumalskogo (Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, India, 2006)
- Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenia, 2010)
- Order "Sheikh ul-Islam" (Caucasian Muslims Office, 2011)
Awards of the Federation of Russia
- Order of Merit for the Fatherland;
- 2nd class (20 November 2006) – for his great personal contribution to the spiritual and cultural traditions and strengthening friendship between peoples
- 3rd class (11 August 2000) – for outstanding contribution to the strengthening of civil peace and the revival of spiritual and moral traditions
- Order of Alexander Nevsky (7 January 2011) – for outstanding personal contribution to the Motherland in the preservation of spiritual and cultural traditions
- Order of Friendship (28 December 1995) – for services to the state, the progress made in implementing a comprehensive program of construction, reconstruction and restoration of historic and cultural sites in Moscow
- Order of Friendship of Peoples (1988)
- Medal "50 Years of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945."
- Jubilee Medal "300th Anniversary of Russian Navy" (1996)
- Medal "In memory of the 850th anniversary of Moscow" (1997)
- Gratitude of the President of the Russian Federation (14 August 1995) – for active participation in the preparation and conduct of the 50th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945
- Diploma of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (2001)
Foreign awards
- Order "Honour" (Azerbaijan, 2010)
- Order of the Republic (Moldova, 2011)
- Medal "65th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War" (Transnistria, 2010)
Honorary citizenships
Lukoyanovskogo District of Nizhny Novgorod Region (2000), Smolensk region (5 February 2009), Kaliningrad Region (5 March 2009), Kemerovo Region (2010), Smolensk (2003), Rizskoe Vyazemsky district of Smolensk region (2004), Kaliningrad region of the Neman (2006), Vyazemsky district of Smolensk region (2006), Kaliningrad (2006), Khoroshevo-Mnevniki North-Western Administrative District of Moscow (2006), Republic of Mordovia (2011 – for outstanding contribution to the preservation and development of domestic spiritual and moral traditions, strengthening of interaction of church and state).
References
- "Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia". Official Website of the Department of External Church Relations. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- "Биография Святейшего Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла". Official Website of the Moscow Patriarchate. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- "Russians bid farewell to Patriarch at grand funeral". Moscow: Reuters. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- Template:Ru icon"Упокоился с миром". Moscow: Gazeta.ru. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-09.
- Russia’s prospective church leader says opposed to reforms RIA Novosti 29 December 2008.
- Russian Church against compromise on belief-preaching with Catholics — Metropolitan Kirill Interfax, 21 January 2009.
- Fidel Castro considers Metropolitan Kirill his ally in opposing American imperialism Interfax 23 October 2008.
- Митрополит Кирилл встретился с Фиделем Кастро ROC official web site, 21 October 2008
- Фидель Кастро считает митрополита Кирилла своим союзником в противостоянии американскому империализму ROC official web site, 21 October 2008
- The Russian Orthodox Church awards the Castro brothers Interfax 20 October 2008.
- "Игрок глобального масштаба. 60-летие митрополита Кирилла через призму украинских церковных проблем". Portal-credo.ru. 2007-02-27. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
- Митрополит Кирилл после Украины. В минуты «триумфа» не грех вспомнить и о неудачах нынешнего председателя ОВЦС МП Oleg Vladimirov, 1 August 2008
- Первые киевские итоги: методы церковной внешней политики РПЦ МП и роль одной личности в одной истории portal-credo.ru 24 July 2008
- Interfax-Religion
- Official Site of the Patriarch of Moscow Патриаршее поздравление А.Г. Лукашенко с переизбранием на пост Президента Республики Беларусь Patriarchal congratulations to AG Lukashenko on being re-elected as President of the Republic of Belarus), 22 December 2010.
- Interfax. Patriarch Kirill wishes Lukashenko to invariably develop fraternal relations with Russia, 22 December 2010.
- "A nasty surprise in Belarus". The Economist. 29 December 2010.
- "Protesters try to storm government HQ in Belarus". BBC News. 20 December 2010.
- "Orthodox Church enthrones leader". BBC. 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
- Патриарх Кирилл призвал Церковь и государство к взаимодействию NEWSru 2 February 2009.
- Miedwiediew: Państwo będzie wspierało Cerkiew Gazeta Wyborcza 2 February 2009.
- Архипастыри — участники Поместного Собора присутствовали на приеме в Георгиевском зале Большого кремлевского дворца patriarchi.ru 2 February 2009.
- Приём от имени Президента России в честь архиереев – участников Поместного собора Русской православной церкви kremlin.ru 2 February 2009.
- In English: http://www.mospat.ru/index.php?page=44057
- "Russian patriarch calls Putin era "miracle of God"". Reuters. 8 February 2012.
- Tony Halpin, "Russian Orthodox Church choses between 'ex-KGB candidates' as Patriarch". The Times (of London) online, 26 January 2009.
- Template:Ru iconМитрополит Кирилл попал в поле зрения американской газеты The Washington Times 26 January 2005.
- Template:Ru iconРазведка России использует Эстонскую Православную Церковь Simon Araloff, AIA European section, 17 May 2006.
- Template:Ru icon Американская газета назвала митрополита Кирилла возможным преемником Алексия II
- Template:Ru iconСвященник Георгий Эдельштейн опасается, что патриархом станет «офицер КГБ, атеист и порочный человек» www.grani.ru 27 May 2003.
- ^ Template:Ru iconБожественные голоса The New Times № 50, 15 December 2008.
- Halpin, Tony (26 January 2009). "Russian Orthodox Church chooses between 'ex-KGB candidates' as Patriarch". London: Times Online. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- Митрополит Смоленский и Калининградский Кирилл portal-credo.ru
- ^ Nathaniel Davis (2000). Tribulations, trials and Troubles for the Russian Orthodox Church. Religion in Eastern Europe 20 (6): 39–50.
- Template:Ru iconУходящий год ознаменовался историческим событием: две разделенные части Православной Церкви — Русская Православная Церковь (РПЦ) и Русская Православная Церковь Заграницей (РПЦЗ) — подписали Акт о каноническом общении The New Times № 46, 24 December 2007
- Митрополит Кирилл: «Пусть благословенье Божье пребывает со всеми нами» Izvestia, 24 December 2002.
- ^ "Plight of punk rockers turns Russians against the Church". The Independent. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- Pussy Riot closing statements (translated into English), n+1 magazine, accessed 2012-08-19.
- Unorthodox behaviour rattles Russian church Financial Times, 14 April 2012 (paper edition).
- The strange case of the Patriarch, some sand, and 20 million rouble lawsuit
- Ex-Minister Made to Pay Over 'Toxic Dust' Moscow Times, 9 April 2012
- Думали, что однофамилец
- Патриарх Кирилл прокомментировал суд за соседскую квартиру: простить обидчика было бы "некорректно" NEWSru, 30 March 2012.
- ^ "Russia's Patriarch Kirill in furore over luxury watch". BBC. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- Patriarch Awarded Shoe, Saint-Petersburg Times, 21 June 2012.
External links
| Orthodox Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byAlexy II | Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia 2009–present |
Incumbent |
- 1946 births
- Living people
- People from Saint Petersburg
- Russian Orthodox Christians
- Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia
- Eastern Orthodox bishops
- Christian Peace Conference members
- Russian television personalities
- Recipients of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 2nd class
- Recipients of the Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow
- Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky
- Recipients of the Order of Friendship
- Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples
- Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow