Patriarch Kirill in the world. Kirill, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (Gundyaev Vladimir Mikhailovich)

After the blessed death of Patriarch Alexei II, by the grace of the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church January 27, 2009 in Moscow in cathedral The Cathedral of Christ the Savior elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad as His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The election took place by secret ballot.

The election of Metropolitan Kirill as patriarch was not a surprise to many of us. Because we all knew the Bishop well from his frequent appearances in the media, when he was still a metropolitan and headed the Department of External Church Relations. We all, of course, want to know about his childhood, youth, and in general about what kind of person he is, our Patriarch. We won’t get away from this; people are always curious about it. To meet the interests of the believers of our country, Archbishop of Volokolamsk Illarion (Alfeev) wrote the book “Patriarch Kirill. Life and worldview." The preface of the book says so: this book was written in response to numerous requests from people both within the Church and outside the Church, who are interested in the personality of the new patriarch.” Already during his previous ministry he was a public person, because he always takes a very active life position. As His Holiness himself writes: “My principle of life is do it and do it today, never put it off.” And for all of my life, it’s not that big yet, thank God, great life he did so much! Church calendar for this year, an article opens that lists in small print the positions of the patriarch, the commissions he headed, numerous state and church awards, theological works... All this takes up five pages. Today we will talk mainly about his biography.

But before talking about him, of course, I would like to talk about his family. The Patriarch is a third generation clergyman. His paternal grandfather Vasily Stepanovich Gundyaev was born in Astrakhan, and in 1903 the family of the patriarch’s great-grandfather moved to the city of Lukoyanov, Nizhny Novgorod province. Vasily at that time worked as a mechanic driver at a railway depot. He was deep religious person and raised his children in the Orthodox faith. Their family had seven children of their own and one adopted girl. The family lived very modestly. Moreover, Vasily received a considerable salary, since railways were not so common, and railway workers at that time were as respected as pilots under Soviet rule, and their work was paid very well. For most of the year, the family lived in a service house at the railway depot, meaning there was no need to pay rent. And for the summer they went to the village, where they also didn’t need much money. But at the same time they always lived extremely modestly. Such a modest image did not correspond to the income of the head of the family. Many years later, the future patriarch asked his grandfather: “Where is all your money? Why didn’t you save anything either before or after the revolution?” The grandfather answered briefly: “I sent all the money to Athos.” Those. he kept for himself only what was needed for the most modest life, and sent all his money to the monastery.

In October 1917, the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia. Part of their ideological program was the fight against religion. Immediately after the coup, brutal persecution of the Church, arrests and murders of clergy began. As a result, by 1939, only about a hundred functioning churches remained throughout the country. What is happening at this time with Vasily Gundyaev? In the first four years after the October Revolution, he was still free. But soon he was arrested and exiled to Solovki for his fight against renovationism in the Church. The Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp - the infamous SLON - was created by decree of the Council of People's Commissars in 1923 on the territory of the Solovetsky Archipelago. The ancient monastery, founded by the Monks Zosima and Savvaty Solovetsky, turned into one of the branches of the Gulag, which covered the whole of Russia with barbed wire. By the end of 1930, there were more than 70 thousand prisoners in this camp. And among them are academicians, professors, writers, poets, philosophers, actors. It was also a special place of exile for priests.

Vasily Gundyaev was one of the first Solovetsky prisoners. In prison, he worked as a mechanic and even repaired a stranded steamship sailing between the Solovetsky archipelago and the mainland. His cellmates treated him with respect. Vasily tried in every possible way to maintain communication with the bishops and priests who were in the camp. One of the prisoners of this camp was Archbishop Hilarion Troitsky, the closest assistant to Patriarch Tikhon. Patriarch Kirill says that in an amazing way Saint Hilarion is connected with his family through his grandfather Priest Vasily, also a confessor of God, who in the year 22 was imprisoned in the Solovetsky camp, where he met with Saint Hilarion. He also knew other Russian hierarchs who were in prison. In total, he spent 30 years in prison and exile.

And he had a wife at home who raised eight children. How could they survive at that time? When he left, he could not help his family in any way, because he had never saved money. In parting, he said: “Don’t worry or despair, I will pray for you.” One day the situation reached the point where there was nothing left in the house. And mother even cried in despair because she didn’t know what to give the children for breakfast in the morning. We went to bed, suddenly someone knocked on the door. She opened it, frightened, thinking that now they had come for them or to take something away again. Some big guy came in and said: “Go, they brought it for you.” Frightened, she ran out into the yard, and there stood a cart with a bag of flour on it. And while she was dragging this flour, she returned - there was no one there. Where this flour came from - we can only guess. Apparently - through the prayers of Father Vasily.

After his release, Vasily was in an illegal situation for a long time. The only way to remain free is to hide from the authorities, that is, not get a job and not live in one place for a long time. And only at the end of the 40s was his position legalized. He was able to come to Leningrad. Patriarch Kirill remembers meeting his grandfather, how he and his mother met him at the Moscow station. The Patriarch writes: “I remember this scene well - a lean elderly man came out of the carriage, it even seemed to me like an old man. With a huge black plywood suitcase. And mom ran to him: “Dad, dad, we’ll get a porter now!” And he was indignant: “What other porter?” - “Well, let me help you carry your suitcases.” Grandfather smiled, took off his belt, tied up the suitcase, shouldered the suitcase and walked away.

Vasily’s dream all his life was the priesthood. But the dream came true only at the end of his days - already in the Khrushchev era he was ordained as a deacon and assigned to the church in the city of Birsk. Then he was ordained as a priest and assigned to serve in a Bashkir village. Being an 80-year-old man, Priest Vasily zealously served God and the Church. Sometimes he walked 14 kilometers on foot to give communion to a sick person. After retiring, Father Vasily returned to the village of Obrochnoe in the former Arzamas province, where he and his parents had gone as a child. He died there on October 31, 1969. Among the clergy who participated in the funeral service were the son of Priest Vasily, Archpriest Mikhail Gundyaev, and two grandsons - Priest Nikolai, at that time a teacher at the Leningrad Theological Academy, and Hieromonk Kirill, a student at the same academy, the future patriarch.

Patriarch Kirill's father, Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev, was born on January 6, 1907. Since childhood I wanted to become a priest. In 1926 he entered higher theological courses in Leningrad. At that time, it was the only theological educational institution in the country that had not yet been closed by the Bolsheviks. The famous St. Petersburg Theological Academy was closed almost immediately after the revolution, and theological pastoral courses were created instead. In 1920, they were transformed into the Theological Institute, among the teachers were many prominent professors of the St. Petersburg Academy.

He studied at the courses until the spring of 1928, when this last theological educational institution was closed. Mikhail was drafted into the army. He served in the army for two years and returned to Leningrad, wanted to enter the medical school. But the only one educational institution, which one could enroll in after studying theological courses, turned out to be a mechanical technical school. While studying theology courses, he had already compromised himself before the authorities. After graduating from a mechanical technical school, he began working as a designer at the Leningrad plant named after. Kalinina. Then he graduated from the Leningrad Industrial Institute, and at the same time he met his future wife Raisa Vladimirovna Kuchina, a student at the Institute foreign languages. Both sang in the church choir. Patriarch Kirill recalls: “My father sang on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays in the choir of the Kyiv courtyard in St. Petersburg, on the Lieutenant Schmidt embankment. There, on the choir, he met my mother, who was also studying and working at that time. A few days before the wedding, the father is arrested and sent to Kolyma. Moreover, he had a premonition that this would happen, because the night before they went to the Philharmonic and listened to Bach’s Passions. When they left, the father, impressed by the music, said to the bride: “You know, it seems to me that I will be sent to prison.” - “How can you say that, we’re having a wedding?” - “Throughout the entire concert I had the feeling that I was going to be arrested.” The young man saw off the bride and, approaching his own house, saw a car in which those who had come for him were sitting. A search was conducted before the arrest. We found notes on theology in which the word “God” was written with a capital letter. Well, of course, this was enough to arrest him. On February 25, 1934, Mikhail Gundyaev was sentenced to 3 years in forced labor camps and sent to the Far East.

In 1937, after serving his full term, Mikhail was released and returned to Leningrad, where he worked at various enterprises. When the Great Great Patriotic War began in June 1941 Patriotic War, Mikhail worked as a chief mechanic at one of the military factories. On September 8, the siege of Leningrad began. The Gundyaevs did not evacuate from the besieged city. My father worked at the factory, which continued to operate even during the blockade.

The blockade lasted 871 days, the city was practically cut off from the rest of the country and was subjected to regular artillery shelling. The data presented at the Nuremberg trials mentions the figure of 632 thousand - those who died in Leningrad during the siege. Mostly people did not die from bombing and shelling, they died a severe and painful death from starvation.

In the first months of the blockade, Mikhail participated in the construction of defensive fortifications and, as a result of hard work, quickly reached complete exhaustion. He was picked up on the street as if dead and brought to the morgue. Since the morgue was full, they laid him in the corridor. A nurse passing by accidentally touched the sheet with which he was covered, and, looking at the face of the deceased, she saw that the pupil had contracted when the sheet flew off. The woman screamed, and this saved the dying man. Publicity about sending a living person to the morgue could lead to disastrous consequences. The hospital management was scared. They began to feed Mikhail intensively so that there would be no noise. Having survived, from then on he could no longer serve or work in civilian work. He was sent as a specialist to Nizhny Novgorod, where he was involved in the acceptance of the T-34 tank. He worked in this post until Victory Day.

During the war years, the policy of the Soviet state towards the Church softened somewhat. On the very first day, Metropolitan Sergius addressed the people with a fiery appeal to stand up for the defense of the Fatherland and called for God's blessing on the Soviet army. At the request of Metropolitan Sergius, some bishops were returned from exile and appointed to the departments. Conversations became possible about the need to convene a council of bishops and about the opening of spiritual institutions.

These changes in the Russian Orthodox Church made it possible for Mikhail Gundyaev to fulfill his cherished dream - to become a priest. He wrote a petition addressed to Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad, he was ordained and assigned to the church Smolensk icon Mother of God on Vasilyevsky Island. From 1951 to 1972, he changed a lot of churches. This track record looks quite good, but in fact his service was far from cloudless. Frequent transfers from one temple to another - this was a kind of method of fighting the Church. After all, it takes time for a parish to form and a community to develop, so that a priest can delve into the lives of his parishioners. As soon as the authorities felt that a parish was forming somewhere, they transferred the priest to another place - in order to prevent people from uniting. At that time, the state declared a benevolent attitude towards the Church, since the authorities were afraid to go too far, feeling a special spiritual need in the people during the war. They were afraid to use the methods of the 30s.

Another form of struggle against the Church was material oppression of the clergy. A whole campaign was launched against priests and parishes. The victims were mainly those priests who were popular among the people. Raifo - the district financial department - presented them with a demand to pay a tax, which was taken from the ceiling and was huge. A rayfo worker would come, name the unknown calculated astronomical amount of income that the parish supposedly received, and assign a completely arbitrary tax - for example, 51%. And the priest is obliged to pay half of his imaginary annual income. Patriarch Kirill recalls: “My father, like many, was invited to the raifo. He was told that he had earned some fantastic money and therefore he had to pay about 120 thousand rubles in tax.”

The family got into terrible debt. There were people who lent money. They sold everything that was surplus and not superfluous, and paid this tax. The Patriarch recalls: “My father paid this debt until his death, then he died and after his death his son Vladimir began to pay this tax. And I paid this tax until I was already sent to work in Switzerland.”

The family had three children. The eldest son Nikolai now serves as an archpriest in St. Petersburg. Sister Elena now heads an Orthodox gymnasium in St. Petersburg, where she for a long time worked in the library. Elena Mikhailovna recalls:

I don’t understand how we lived. As a child, I walked out to the front door, and on the handle hung a string bag with food, which was brought by ordinary parishioners. People of very modest means. Most often, this net contained a herring and a loaf of bread.

But, despite this, in parallel with serving at the parish, Father Mikhail continued to study theological sciences. In 1961, already an elderly man with many children, he graduated from the Leningrad Theological Seminary, in 1970 from the Leningrad Theological Academy, and at the age of 63 he defended his dissertation and became a candidate of theology. He died on October 13, 1974 in Leningrad. And 10 years later his wife died.

The middle child of Archpriest Mikhail and Raisa Gundyaev, son Vladimir, was born on November 20, 1946. His childhood and youth were spent in the city of Leningrad. At the age of seven, Volodya entered school. All children upon reaching the age of 10 were required to join a pioneer organization. It was a children's version of the Communist Party, and at the age of 14 they joined the Komsomol. It was such a communist party for youth.

And in such a situation, of course, children from believing families in Soviet schools were outcasts. The Patriarch recalls: “I walked to school as if I were going to Golgotha. Very often I was called to teacher councils and debates.” Their family never hid their religious beliefs. And Vladimir did not join either the Pioneer or Komsomol organizations. And he studied very well - he was one of the best students at school. Those. he had to be sent to all sorts of shows, Olympiads - to report on his work with his successes. How do you report? Neither a pioneer nor an October child. The school director was at a loss, called Volodya and said: “Still, I insist that you join the pioneers.” To which Volodya replied: “Well, okay, if you need it so much, I can join the pioneers, but you agree that I will go to church in a red tie. Because I will go to church.”

The fact that Volodya did not wear a tie was very noticeable. He was constantly asked: “Why don’t you wear it?” Thus, the boy had to confess his faith all the time. Which he did with success, because even then he was distinguished by his eloquence and ability to find the right word. Without becoming either a pioneer or a Komsomol member, he did not become a dissident, as he himself writes. Because he loved his country and his people and did not want to criticize them to the whole world.

Vladimir's favorite school subject was physics, and he was also interested in other natural disciplines. Once, when they were studying Darwin’s theory, the children, apparently they had already talked about this topic with Volodya and among themselves, shouted: “Let Gundyaev explain Darwin’s theory to us,” and prepared to watch how their friend would get out of the situation. The boy stood up, very competently outlined Darwin’s theory, and added that from the point of view of Soviet science, such a theory exists. And then he outlined his theory about the origin of species. And he emphasized that he does not want to impose anything on anyone and everyone must decide for themselves their views on this topic. Whether he wants to descend from a monkey or not - everyone decides for himself.

Being the best student at school, after the 8th grade Volodya left school. He also left home. This does not mean bad family relationships. They were good. But, as he himself explains, the young man could not allow his 15-year-old parents to provide for him. Those. he did not consider it possible to accept financial help from his parents, seeing how hard they lived. Vladimir decided to start working and got a job on a geological expedition, while studying at night school. He worked on a geological expedition from 1962 to 1965. And after finishing school I wanted to enter the physics department of Leningrad University. Actually, he wanted to be a priest, but then he decided that he would first receive a higher secular education and acquire skills scientific work, and only then will enter the theological seminary. But his older brother advised him to talk with Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), ​​who at that time was the Metropolitan of Leningrad and, in fact, the second person in the Church. Patriarch Kirill recalls: “On the eve of the meeting I could not sleep, I was so worried. I rode to the Lavra by trolleybus, and with each stop the excitement intensified. With trepidation I entered the bishop’s office. But he greeted me so sincerely that there was no trace of timidity left. After listening to me, he said: you know, Volodya, there are a lot of scientists in our country. If you put them one after another, the chain will reach Moscow. But there are few priests. And besides, it is unknown whether we will be able to admit you to the seminary after college. Because no one knew how things would go further. The liquidation of religious institutions was not completely ruled out. He says: “So go straight to the seminary.”

It is worth telling about Vladyka Nikodim, because the patriarch considers him his teacher and a person who had a great influence on him. big influence. His Holiness puts Metropolitan Nikodim on the same level with such outstanding representatives of the Russian hierarchy as Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of Kiev, or Metropolitan Filaret Drozdov. And Bishop Nikodim came from a working-class family. At the age of 17, he was already ordained a deacon and tonsured a monk. Then he very quickly made a church career and in 1959 he was already deputy chairman of the department for external church relations. The bishop's assumption of this position coincided with the beginning of the next round of persecution of religion. In 1958, Communist Party leader Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev initiated a campaign against the Church. He promised that he would build communism in 20 years, and in 80 he would show the last priest on TV. At that time, it was announced that Gagarin flew in space and did not see any God, therefore He does not exist. They probably expected to see God as an old man sitting on a cloud.

In order to completely discredit the Church, priests began to be asked to renounce God and engage in propaganda of scientific atheism. This was to demonstrate to the people that the Church was falling apart. For this ignoble mission, they looked for, as a rule, those clergy who were banned from serving or had some canonical violations. On December 5, 1959, the Pravda newspaper published an article in which the former archpriest, professor at the Leningrad Theological Academy, Alexander Osipov (please, not to be confused with Alexei Ilyich Osipov, professor at the Moscow Theological Academy), renounced God and the Church. He had previously been banned from the priesthood for his second marriage and continued teaching. And so, having become an atheist, he turned all his gifts to denouncing “religious prejudices.” This renunciation of Osipov and other priests hit the Church hard, which nevertheless was not afraid to adopt a resolution to deprive the traitors of their holy orders and excommunicate them from church communion. In 1960, the conference “Soviet Public for Disarmament” was held in Moscow, in which representatives of the international community participated. Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy (Simansky) made a speech there and said: “The Russian Orthodox Church speaks to you through my lips. This is the church that served the Russian state in the fight against foreign invaders both during the Time of Troubles and in Patriotic War. And she remained with the Russian people during the last world war. True, despite all this, the Church of Christ, which considers its work to be good for people, experiences attacks and reproaches from people. And yet she fulfills her duty, calling people to peace and love.” This speech of the patriarch is said to have had the effect of a bomb exploding. Before this, they were afraid to openly say that there was oppression against the Church in the USSR. According to the memoirs of Metropolitan Nikolai (Yarushevich), such an open statement to the whole world was made for the first time since the time of Patriarch Tikhon. The same Metropolitan Nicholas was declared the culprit of the scandal and the scapegoat, because he composed the patriarch’s speech. As a result, he was removed from his post as chairman of the department of external church relations. Here we must remember that all appointments and removals were carried out not by church, but by secular authorities. The 30-year-old Archimandrite Nikodim Rotov was appointed to the position.

In 1948, the Russian Orthodox Church refused to join the World Council of Churches, but now, on the initiative of Metropolitan Nikodim, it joined because, as the patriarch says, the department for external church relations was a float, as if holding the entire Church.

On the one hand, the Soviet state needed external church activity, because it indirectly testified to the presence of religious freedom in the country. The logic is simple: if there are priests abroad, then there is religious life, if there is religious life, then the accusations of oppression are unfair. Those. from a propaganda point of view, it was beneficial for the government that the Church had the opportunity to carry out foreign relations. But from an ideological point of view, he did not need this. Because real priests, not figureheads, went abroad. And such contacts provided a support system for the Russian Orthodox Church.

In such difficult conditions, the ministry of the young monk Vladimir began. He took monastic vows early - at the age of 22. I didn’t make the decision right away; I thought about it. There were people who not only dissuaded me, but advised me to think seriously. In particular, his teacher at the academy, when he learned about Vladimir’s intention to cut his hair, said: “Now you are 20 years old, and then you will be 30, 40, 50, 60, and you must answer not only for your 20-year-old self, but and for the people you will become over time. You should think about this too.”

The future patriarch set himself a certain deadline: if by this time I do not meet a girl whom I want to marry, then I will take monastic vows. He did not meet the girl and took monastic vows. And he was 22 years old at that time.

When Vladimir first entered the seminary, Metropolitan Nikodim invited him and said that he would be his novice and personal secretary. The young man began to refuse, saying that he could not combine his studies and the difficult work of the Bishop’s secretary. Metropolitan Nikodim replied that he felt great strength in him. Vladimir began studying individual program(for two years) and act as secretary. And having already taken monastic vows, he again asked the bishop for advice: where to find time for everything. The Metropolitan replied: “You must organize your life in such a way that you have absolutely no free time. You should fill all your time with useful things, then it will be easier for you, and you will have time to do everything.”

He was tonsured on April 3, 1969 with the name Cyril in honor of St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril, the enlightener of the Slavs. And already in his student years he began to participate in the international activities of the Russian Orthodox Church. When Sendismoz, a worldwide brotherhood of Orthodox youth, was created in 1971, Bishop Nicodemus sent Kirill to a conference where the Russian Church was to announce whether it would join this youth organization or not. Bishop Nikodim gave Kirill two letters: in one letter it was written that we agree to join this organization, in the other - that we reject the invitation. The young monk had to go, listen to all the speeches and understand what was being offered to us, on what terms, what it would look like, whether there was a threat here, whether there were any canonical violations in communicating with them - and make a decision himself. Those. Even then he was entrusted with such responsible decisions. And on September 12, 1971, he was appointed representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva. (That's only when he stopped paying his father's debts).

The temple at the representative office was very modest. And at first there were very few people. But with the advent of a new rector, the temple began to fill with parishioners. One day, a high-ranking official from our embassy came to him and asked him to marry his wife. But he asked: “Just for God’s sake, don’t tell anyone. Because I will be in very big trouble." After a while, another embassy worker comes and says: “I want to get married to my wife, but you don’t tell anyone and under no circumstances tell my boss,” and says the name of the person who first came to the bishop to get married. It’s a funny incident, but the future patriarch then thought: “Lord, we live in a kingdom of distorting mirrors. Two Orthodox people who could be close friends are separated by fears and prejudices.” This story made a very big impression on him, and even now it is noticeable how much effort he devotes to overcoming the division of Christians.

He became the rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy at the age of 28 - the youngest in the history of the academy. At the same time, he was elevated to the rank of Bishop of Vyborg and made vicar of the Leningrad diocese.

After 10 years of his quite successful leadership, suddenly an order came to transfer Archbishop Kirill to Smolensk. Just like that, one day, you can say. The Patriarch writes: “Of course, it was a resignation, a demotion. And the first person who set me up correctly at that moment was His Holiness Patriarch Alexy.” Since then, they not only worked together, but also became very close people. Then Bishop Alexy said the following words: “None of us can understand why this happened. From the point of view of human logic, this should not have happened. But it happened. And only then will we find out why all this was necessary.” Now it has become known from archival sources that the initiators of the sudden transfer from Leningrad to Smolensk were secular authorities. But, of course, all this was providential - before that he worked in the power structures of the Church, in the capital cities of Moscow and Leningrad, and then he ends up in Smolensk and is engaged in the restoration of churches and all the work that he will also have to know, already being a patriarch. In this way the Lord was preparing him for future service.

Another reason for the transfer of Archbishop Kirill was his protest against the introduction Soviet troops to Afghanistan. He, as a member of the executive committee of the World Council of Churches, together with Metropolitan Elijah of Sukhumi, contributed to the adoption of a resolution that condemned the invasion. It has now become known that one of the initiators of Bishop Kirill’s resignation was General Oleg Kalugin, who at that time worked as deputy head of the KGB department for Leningrad. Subsequently, he turned into an ardent critic of the Soviet regime and left for the United States.

We remember Bishop Kirill as chairman of the department for external church relations. And when Patriarch Alexy died and Metropolitan Kirill was elected patriarch, everyone, of course, began to compare them. Many said: there is too much of him, he talks too much. Here you need to understand that they had absolutely different time compared to Patriarch Alexy. Patriarch Alexei’s main task was to renew the life of the Church, build and restore churches. And now we have enough churches built compared to how many there were. Now we need to think about who will fill these temples. We must strive so that people perceive the temple not as Russian folk tradition, but studied and understood the word of God and lived according to its commandments. Previously, priests dealt mainly with older people. The parishes were small, but they were made up of churchgoers who were familiar with the Gospel and understood what the priest was talking about. Now people have come to churches who have lived most of their lives without a church. It is difficult for them to understand the abundance of information pouring in on them; they need help. Therefore, new ways and forms of communication are required so that misunderstanding or indifference does not drown out the awakened voice of God in these people. Let us thank the Lord for not abandoning us with his mercy, sending our Church an educated, open-minded patriarch who knows how to attract the attention of any audience.

Family

Paternal line Patriarch Mordvin, (surname Gundyaev from the old Mordovian name Gundyay). Grandfather - Vasily Gundyaev– priest - went through 47 prisons and 7 exiles, spent almost 30 years in prison. He served time, including in Solovki. He went to prison because he fought against the renovationism of the church, which at one time was inspired by the Cheka.

Father is a priest Mikhail Vasilievich Gundyaev(January 18, 1907 – October 13, 1974). Graduated from Higher Theological Courses in Leningrad; Served for two years in the Red Army, graduated from the Mechanical College in 1933, and entered the Leningrad Industrial Institute. But he did not finish it - he was accused of political disloyalty, arrested and sentenced to 3 years. Served time for Kolyma.

After the war, on March 9, 1947, he was ordained a deacon, and on March 16 of the same year - a priest by Metropolitan Grigory (Chukov) of Leningrad, and assigned to the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God on Vasilyevsky Island.

In 1951 he was transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral, where he served as assistant rector. In 1960 he was transferred to the rector of the Alexander Nevsky Church in Krasnoe Selo; then Seraphim Church, in 1972 - became rector of the St. Nicholas Church on Bolshaya Okhta.

Mother - Raisa Vladimirovna Gundyaeva(November 7, 1909 – November 2, 1984); dev. Kuchina, taught German at school.

Elder brother - archpriest Nikolay Gundyaev- worked as rector St. Petersburg Theological Academy, professor, rector of the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

The younger sister Elena works as the director of an Orthodox gymnasium.

Biography

Born on November 20, 1946 in Leningrad. While still a schoolboy, he worked in the Leningrad complex geological expedition of the North-Western Geological Directorate, from 1962 to 1965 - as a cartographic technician.

In 1965 he entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, then the Leningrad Theological Academy.

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

In 1970 he graduated with honors Leningrad Theological Academy, received a candidate of theology degree (dissertation on the topic “The formation and development of the church hierarchy and the teaching of the Orthodox Church about its gracious character”). He remained at the Academy as a professorial fellow, teacher of dogmatic theology and assistant inspector.

From August 30, 1970, he served as personal secretary to the Metropolitan of Leningrad Nicodemus (Rotova).

On September 12, 1971, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. In the same year he became a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate under World Council of Churches in Geneva.

At the age of 28 (December 26, 1974) he was appointed rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy and Seminary. He organized a special regency class for girls and introduced physical education lessons into the program.

In December 1975 he became a member of the Central Committee and the Executive Committee World Council of Churches, and since 1975 - a member of the “Faith and Order” commission of the World Council of Churches, and since March 3, 1976, a member of the Synodal Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-Church Relations.

On September 9, 1977, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop, and on October 12, 1978, he was appointed administrator of the patriarchal parishes in Finland. In the same year he was appointed chairman of the Department of External Church Relations.

Since 1983 - taught in graduate school at Moscow Theological Academy.

Since December 26, 1984 - Archbishop of Smolensk and Vyazemsky. The transfer to the provincial department was associated with the refusal to vote in 1980 for the resolution of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, which condemned the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, as well as other anti-religious motives of the USSR authorities.

In April 1989 he became “Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.”

On November 14, 1989 he became Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Moscow Patriarchate, permanent member Holy Synod.

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

Since 1993 - co-chairman, since 1995 - deputy head of the World Russian People's Council. Since 1994, Honorary President of the World Conference "Religion and Peace". Since February 26, 1994 - member of the Synodal Theological Commission.

Since 1994, he became the host of the spiritual and educational program “The Word of the Shepherd” on Channel One.

In 1995-2000 he headed the Synodal working group on developing the concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of church-state relations and problems of modern society.

On December 6, 2008, the day after the death of Patriarch Alexy II, at a meeting of the Holy Synod, Kirill was elected Patriarchal Locum Tenens by secret ballot.

On December 10, 2008, he became chairman of the commission created by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church for the preparation Bishop's And Local Councils(scheduled for the end of January 2009) of the Russian Orthodox Church.

On December 29, 2008, he told reporters that he was speaking " categorically against any reforms" in the church.

On December 30, 2008, at a meeting with students of the Sretensky Theological Seminary, he said that, in his opinion, the huge problem of church life before the revolution was that it was not possible to create a strong Orthodox intelligentsia, which he dreamed of Anthony Khrapovitsky(first hierarch of the ROCOR banned by the Moscow Patriarchate).

On January 27, 2009, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, he was elected the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', gaining 508 votes out of 677 (75%).

On February 1, 2009, Metropolitan Kirill was enthroned to the patriarchal rank in Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

On March 11, 2009, during a trip around the country, he said that the main criterion in assessing the activities of the Church should be the moral state of society, and not the occupancy of churches.

On April 16, 2009, on Maundy Thursday, he committed rite of washing feet- "for the first time in modern history."

April 29, 2009, during a meeting with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, said: " For the Russian Orthodox Church, Kyiv is our Constantinople with its Hagia Sophia; it is the spiritual center and southern capital of Russian Orthodoxy".

On July 4-6, 2009, he made his first official foreign visit as Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church - Istanbul (Patriarchate of Constantinople). Based on the results of his negotiations with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, they started talking about the thawing of traditionally tense relations between the two patriarchates. The Patriarch also met with the head of the Office of Religious Affairs under the Turkish government.

In 2011, he made 21 archpastoral visits to 19 dioceses of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova.

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

In August 2012, information appeared that the Patriarch became a social network user for the first time in history Facebook with the account PatriarhKirill. However, back in May 2012, deacon Alexander Volkov- the deputy head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate noted that “this is not the personal page of Patriarch Kirill, but one of the official information resources of the Moscow Patriarchate,” and clarified that “ the resource will not be a source of direct communication with His Holiness the Patriarch".

In September 2012, at the invitation of the Primate Polish Orthodox Church Archbishop Sawa of Warsaw made an official visit to Catholic Poland, where he met with both representatives of the Orthodox churches and the Catholic clergy. This visit was not only ecclesiastical, but also political; this trip became important step to improve relations with the Holy See. These actions caused a positive response in Vatican.

From June 1 to June 7, 2013, the Patriarch made his first official visit to Greece, where he met with the Pontic Greeks. Visited from 8 to 9 September Transnistria.

On November 11, 2014, the XVIII century opened in the Moscow Cathedral World Russian People's Council under the sign "Unity of history, unity of the people, unity of Russia."

Patriarch Kirill, speaking to those gathered, said: " 2014 opened a new chapter in world history- dramatic. Those who consider themselves winners cold war, inspire everyone that the path of development they define is correct and, moreover, the only possible one for humanity. By dominating the information space, they impose on the world their understanding of economics and government, and seek to suppress the determination to defend values ​​and ideals that are different from their values ​​and ideals associated with the idea of ​​a consumer society. The Russian people are the most important subject of national relations in Russia and their national interests should not be ignored, but should be taken into account with maximum attention in order to achieve harmony with the interests of other national communities".

And in conclusion, the Patriarch addressed the elites: " It is necessary for us to realize at all levels that the interests of the Russian people should not be ignored, but taken into account as much as possible. So that the elites understand that genuine Russian self-awareness does not threaten the integrity of Russia and the interethnic world, but, on the contrary, acts as a guarantor of the unity of the country", concluded the Patriarch.

Social activity

Since January 13, 1995 - member of the Public Council under the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation on issues of resolving the situation in Chechen Republic.

Since May 24, 1995 - member of the presidium of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation for State Prizes of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art.

From August 2, 1995 to May 28, 2009 - member of the Council for Cooperation with religious associations under the President of the Russian Federation.

Since February 19, 1996, member of the board of the Russian State Maritime Historical and Cultural Center (Maritime Center).

Since December 4, 1998 - member of the Russian Organizing Committee for preparations for the meeting of the third millennium and the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity.

Since October 10, 2005 - member of the organizing committee for the Year of the Russian Federation in the People's Republic of China and Years of the People's Republic of China In Russian federation.

Since September 1, 2007 - member of the organizing committee for the Year of the Russian Federation in the Republic of India and the Year of the Republic India In Russian federation.

Scandals, rumors

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, newspaper journalist "Moscow's comsomolets" Sergei Bychkov accused Metropolitan Kirill of using tax breaks for the import of alcohol (church wine) and tobacco products provided by the government in the early 1990s.

According to the newspaper, imports tobacco products was engaged in the financial and trading group "Nika", the vice-president of which was Archpriest Vladimir Veriga- Commercial Director of the Department of External Church Relations, headed by Kirill. Journalist Sergei Bychkov published a number of articles about this commercial activity.

At that time, Metropolitan Kirill, recognizing the fact of import transactions on behalf of the DECR, repeatedly denied accusations of personal interest; he called such publications “a very specific political order,” and “not newspapers, but one newspaper” wrote about it.

After the collapse of the USSR, the Commission of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Russia to investigate the causes and circumstances State Emergency Committee from the sources provided to her concluded that the authorities KGB In the USSR, church bodies were used for their own purposes by recruiting and sending KGB agents into them.

That is, some of the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church were agents KGB. Based on a comparison of the known foreign trips of agent “Mikhailov” and Vladika Kirill, the commission formed an opinion about the identity of Vladika Kirill and agent “Mikhailov”. In 2003, member Moscow Helsinki Group priest Yuri Edelstein sent a letter to the President of Russia V.V. Putin, where he also accused Metropolitan Kirill of having connections with the KGB.

In 2005, Kirill supported the position of the Moscow mayor on a ban on holding a parade of sexual minorities in the city. In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine in January 2008, he also confirmed his unconditional condemnation of homosexuality, but spoke out against the persecution of persons of homosexual orientation ( they have the right to live the way they think is right).

Patriarch's visit to Ukraine by invitation Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church(July 27 - August 5, 2009) was accompanied by local unrest in Kyiv, as well as protest actions by Ukrainian non-canonical church jurisdictions.

Speaking on July 29 at Kiev-Pechersk Lavra At a meeting with clergy, laity, teachers and students of the Kyiv Theological Academy, the Patriarch criticized " influence on Western Christian theology of the ideas of the Enlightenment and philosophical ideas liberalism".

On August 5, the final day of the visit, Kirill said that he was not against spending six months in Moscow, six months in Kyiv, and “would be ready to accept Ukrainian citizenship.” The next day the business manager UOC archbishop Mitrofan(Yurchuk) insisted that the latter statement was a humorous response.

In September of the same year, following the results of the Patriarch’s visit, the Argumenty Nedeli newspaper reported that “a certain circle of so-called security officials” did not like some of the Patriarch’s political actions, in particular, during his visit to Ukraine.

On September 25, 2009, while on a visit to Belarus, during a meeting with the President Alexander Lukashenko, The Patriarch said: " The Church is always ready to support the strengthening and development of the union of fraternal states and to assist in the dialogue between the Belarusian leadership and the Russian authorities".

Addressing the people from the porch of the All Saints Church under construction in Minsk, he said that he recognizes himself " as the Patriarch of the people who emerged from the Kyiv baptismal font"Apparently he meant that the Moscow Patriarchate does not intend to conform the limits of its local church jurisdiction with the new state borders that arose after the collapse of the USSR.

Kirill with this statement questioned the “reality” of the sovereignty of many states: “ there are many countries in the world that consider themselves sovereign, but which are not able to act, including in the international arena, in full accordance with their national interests"This statement had a great negative resonance.

On February 25, 2010, on the day the fourth President of Ukraine took office, together with Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Vladimir (Sabodan), he addressed the new head of state - for the first time in the history of Ukraine.

The Patriarch's participation in the event in connection with the inauguration of the president of a foreign state (the first such act in the history of the Moscow Patriarchate) caused criticism from a number of Ukrainian politicians. Portal-Credo.Ru disseminated officially unconfirmed information that the Moscow Patriarchate is considering the possibility of Patriarch Kirill replacing the Kyiv See along with the Moscow See after the departure of Metropolitan Vladimir.

At Christmas 2012, Patriarch Kirill called on the authorities to listen to popular protests and correct political course, emphasizing that in terms of the development of democracy in Russia, almost nothing has changed since the days of Soviet power or has changed only for the worse, since the lower level of power, which is in close contact with the people, causes persistent rejection among the people. But at the same time, he called on people “not to succumb to provocations,” “to be able to express disagreement,” and “not to destroy the country.”

At the beginning of 2012, a loud scandal arose around a court case for compensation for damage to an apartment belonging to the Patriarch, in which the defendant was a resident of the neighborhood Yuri Shevchenko. According to the position of the plaintiff, registered and living in the patriarchal apartment Lidia Leonova and a court decision, based on an examination carried out by experts from the Institute of Social Sciences, dust from renovations in Shevchenko’s apartment contained components hazardous to health, including nanoparticles, and caused damage to the Patriarch’s apartment, furniture and book collection.

The amount of the claim was about 19.7 million rubles. Such a large amount of the claim and Leonova’s unclear status caused numerous critical articles in the media and discussion in the blogosphere. In a conversation with a journalist, the Patriarch explained that he has nothing to do with the lawsuit filed by his second cousin Leonova, registered in his apartment.

At the same time, Kirill claimed that the money that ex-Minister of Health Shevchenko paid Leonova according to the lawsuit would be used to clean the library and charity.

In 2011 on its pages "New Newspaper" reported that the protection of the Patriarch is carried out by employees Federal service security ( FSO), despite the fact that the Patriarch is not a civil servant. In December 2011 in the federal law A special amendment was made “On Protection”. In accordance with it, taxpayers now pay not only for the security of officials, but also for “other persons.” The state included the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church among these “other persons,” providing him with security due to the allegedly large number of threats received against Kirill from “militant atheists.”

The fact that the Patriarch has state security was confirmed to Gazeta.Ru by the head of the Patriarch’s press service, Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, who emphasized that “this decision was made by President Yeltsin.” However, Patriarch Alexy was guarded much more modestly, according to scheme number three - “just our car plus accompanying employees.” Now the protection of the Patriarch is carried out according to the “presidential scheme”. This scheme includes “work along the route, at the place of stay, at departure. Plus escort. In total, more than 300 employees are involved in the protection of the Patriarch,” a source in the FSO press service clarified.

In 2012, Patriarch Kirill at a meeting with the Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov once again “showed off” his Breguet watch for 20 thousand dollars. Servants of the press service of the Patriarchate erased the clock in Photoshop, but forgot about its reflection on the table. This fact did not escape the attention of bloggers, who quickly made it news No. 1. Further, at the instigation of Patriarch Kirill himself, the story with the clock received an even more unexpected continuation. First, the Patriarch called the photo with Breguet a photoshop, and then unexpectedly recognized the watch as a “gift.”

In the same year, the Patriarch made an appeal not to ignore the action committed by the punk group Pussy Riot in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Largely thanks to the irreconcilable position of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarch personally, on August 17, 2012, 3 members of the group were sentenced under the article of hooliganism, condemning them to 2 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony.

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

year 2014. Another scandal broke out in connection with Patriarch Kirill’s congratulations on his victory in the presidential elections in Ukraine. Moreover, Kirill did this earlier than the President of the Russian Federation.

"Together with many people, I hope that the powers that are in your hands today will serve the good of the east, and the west, and the north, and the south of Ukraine", said Patriarch Kirill.

Many considered Poroshenko’s congratulations on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church as an insult to the residents of eastern Ukraine, against whom the war was waged, as well as an insult to the Russian people, against whom, thanks to the efforts of the new Ukrainian government, a propaganda war is being waged.

At the end of September 2015, the Public Network Movement, funded by Azimut costing about 680 thousand euros.

Patriarch Kirill, Photo from rodoslav.wordpress.com

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' did not waste time in vain in the nineties: his professional portfolio includes the organization of tobacco, oil, automobile and food businesses. According to various estimates, all this hectic activity brought the head of the Russian Orthodox Church capital of 1.5-4 billion dollars. Now the patriarch has at his disposal an apartment in the famous “House on the Embankment”, a Breguet watch worth about 30 thousand euros, palaces in Peredelkino and Gelendzhik, as well as a personal fleet.

“Novaya Gazeta” published on its pages incriminating evidence against the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, and in the world - Gundyaev Vladimir Mikhailovich. According to the newspaper, in the 90s, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, being a modest head of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR MP), was actively engaged in business, thanks to which he made a fortune of several billion. Yes, not rubles, but dollars.

Kirill tobacco

The patriarch's business career began in 1993. Then, with the participation of the Moscow Patriarchate, the financial and trading group “Nika” arose, the vice-president of which was Archpriest Vladimir Veriga, commercial director of the DECR MP. A year later, under the government of the Russian Federation and at the same time in the OSCC, two commissions on humanitarian aid appeared: the first decided what assistance could be exempt from taxes and excise taxes, and the second imported this assistance through the church and sold it to commercial structures. Thus, most tax-exempt aid was distributed through the regular trade network, at regular market prices.

Through this channel, in 1996 alone, the DECR imported about 8 billion cigarettes into the country (data from the government commission on humanitarian aid). This caused serious damage to the “tobacco kings” of that time, who were forced to pay duties and excise taxes and therefore lost in the competition of the DECR MP.

According to Doctor of Historical Sciences Sergei Bychkov, who published several articles about the patriarch’s tobacco business, when Kirill decided to leave this business, more than $50 million worth of “church” cigarettes remained in customs warehouses. During the criminal war, in particular, an assistant to deputy Zhirinovsky, a certain Zen, was killed for these cigarettes.

And here is a letter from the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation to the Moscow Customs Administration dated February 8, 1997, regarding “church” cigarettes: “In connection with the appeal of the Commission on International Humanitarian and Technical Assistance under the Government of the Russian Federation and the decision of the Chairman of the Government dated January 29, 1997 No. VC-P22/38 authorizes customs clearance of tobacco products in the prescribed manner with payment only of excise duty entered into the customs territory before 01/01/97, in accordance with the decision of the above-mentioned Commission.”

So, in fact, since then, Metropolitan Kirill has been given a new title - “Tabacchi”, writes Novaya Gazeta, clarifying that now he is no longer given that title. Nowadays it is customary to call the patriarch “Lyzhneg” - with light hand Orthodox bloggers who drew attention to the enormous importance in the life and work of Kirill of his passion for skiing (this hobby is served by a villa in Switzerland and a private jet, and in Krasnaya Polyana it helps to consolidate informal relationships with the powers that be).

By the way, Kirill himself once tried to justify his participation in the tobacco business: “The people who were involved in this did not know what to do: burn these cigarettes or send them back? We turned to the government, and it made a decision: recognize this as a humanitarian cargo and provide the opportunity to implement it.” Government representatives categorically denied this information, after which Patriarch Alexy II liquidated the DECR MP commission and created a new ROC MP Commission on humanitarian assistance, headed by Bishop Alexy (Frolov).

Kirill Neftyanoy

In addition to the aforementioned Nika Fund, DECR MP was the founder of the commercial bank Peresvet, JSC International Economic Cooperation (IEC), JSC Free People's Television (SNT) and a number of other structures. The most profitable business Kirill after 1996 began to export oil through the MES, exempted from customs duties at the request of Alexy II. Kirill was represented at the MES by Bishop Victor (Pyankov), who now lives as a private citizen in the USA. The company's annual turnover in 1997 was about $2 billion.

Due to the confidentiality of this information, it is now difficult to understand whether Kirill continues to participate in the oil business, but there is one very eloquent fact. A few days before the start military operation Kirill’s deputy, Bishop Feofan (Ashurkov), flew to Iraq against Saddam Hussein.

Kirill Morskoy

In 2000, information was made public about Metropolitan Kirill’s attempts to penetrate the market of marine biological resources (caviar, crabs, seafood) - the relevant government structures allocated quotas for catching Kamchatka crab and shrimp to the company established by the hierarch (JSC Region) (total volume - more than 4 thousand tons).

According to Kaliningrad journalists, Metropolitan Kirill, as the ruling bishop of the ROC MP diocese in the Kaliningrad region, participated in an automobile joint venture in Kaliningrad. It is characteristic that Kirill, even after becoming patriarch, did not appoint a diocesan bishop to the Kaliningrad see, leaving it under his direct control.

Kirill is luxurious

In 2004, Nikolai Mitrokhin, a researcher at the Center for Shadow Economy Research at the Russian State University for the Humanities, published a monograph on the shadow economy. economic activity ROC MP. The value of the assets controlled by Metropolitan Kirill was estimated in this work at $1.5 billion. Two years later, journalists from Moscow News tried to count the assets of the head of the church Ministry of Foreign Affairs and came to the conclusion that they already totaled $4 billion.

And according to The New Times, in 2002, Metropolitan Kirill bought a penthouse in the “House on the Embankment” overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This, by the way, is “the only apartment in Moscow registered specifically in the name of the metropolitan by his secular surname Gundyaev, about which there is a corresponding entry in the cadastral register.”

Another attribute of this life that has become the subject of widespread discussion is a Breguet watch worth about 30 thousand euros, who filmed on the left hand of the patriarch next to the monastic rosary Ukrainian journalists. This happened the day after Kirill pompously broadcast live on the main Ukrainian TV channels: “It is very important to learn Christian asceticism... Asceticism is the ability to regulate one’s consumption... This is a person’s victory over lust, over passions, over instinct. And it is important that both rich and poor possess this quality.”

The luxurious motorcades of Patriarch Kirill and the security services from the Federal Protective Service that he uses have become the talk of the town. In Moscow, when the patriarch is driving, all the streets along his route are blocked, which naturally causes mass indignation among car owners. In Ukraine, Kirill’s half-kilometer motorcades completely shocked local residents: in the neighboring country, even the president travels much more modestly.

We must, however, give Kirill his due: for official visits he charters planes from Transaero, and uses his personal fleet only for personal purposes.

A separate and almost inexhaustible topic is the palaces and residences of the patriarch. Kirill strives to keep up with the top officials of the state in this matter. The newly built palace in Peredelkino was considered his permanent residential residence, for which several houses of local residents were demolished. From the windows of trains in the Kyiv direction, it looks like a large Russian tower - like the Terem Palace in the Kremlin. Kirill doesn’t like living there: the railway passing next door worries him.

Therefore, the current patriarch ordered to redecorate the palace in the Danilov Monastery, which did not look poor before. The construction of the patriarchal palace in Gelendzhik was not without scandals, which primarily aroused the indignation of local environmentalists.

Kirill is scandalous

For the first time, the scandal around the Gelendzhik dacha of the patriarch broke out a year ago, when activists of the “Ecological Watch” North Caucasus entered the territory of a facility under construction. During the inspection, they found out that at least 10 hectares of a unique forest are enclosed by a three-meter fence, and in the center there is a strange “pretentious” building, topped with domes - something between a temple and a mansion.

At the same time, according to Novaya Gazeta, in 2004 the Russian Orthodox Church received at its disposal a plot of land with an area of ​​only 2 hectares. Moreover, this land belonged to the Forest Fund, accordingly, to build capital buildings on this land, by law, it is impossible. However, large-scale construction began here. Environmentalists claim that during construction, 5 to 10 hectares of valuable forest were cut down, which is confirmed by images from space.

The Russian Orthodox Church hastened to refute the arguments of the “greens”. The Moscow Patriarchate referred to the act of Rospotrebnadzor, according to which no facts of illegal logging were recorded on the territory of the Spiritual and Cultural Center. Environmentalists, in turn, point to the fact that the document was drawn up in December 2010 - that is, several years after the destruction of the forest.

Another scandal surrounding the patriarch’s dacha, again initiated by environmentalists, broke out in October of last year. Then activists said that the fire that broke out at the end of September of the same year on the territory of the Spiritual and Cultural Center of the Moscow Patriarchate could have been the result of arson. As Novaya noted then, according to the law, builders are required to pay monetary compensation in the hundreds of thousands of rubles for destroyed trees. And if the trees burned down in a fire, then payment of compensation can be avoided.

At the beginning of 2011, information appeared in the press that the Russian Orthodox Church facility under construction near Gelendzhik was nothing more than a dacha for the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill. However, the information department of the Moscow Patriarchate refuted these arguments, saying that the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church in southern Russia is being built on this site, along with the existing centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Based on materials:

Patriarch Kirill is the main figure of the Russian Orthodox Church today. We learned the details of his biography and life from his press secretary, Deacon Alexander.

For 5 years, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has been Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
Many people know about his extensive social activities and position on this or that issue, but his private life is hidden from prying eyes. For the first time, the head of the patriarch’s press service agreed to open the veil of secrecy only for AiF readers.

God's Allotted Time

Yulia Tutina, AiF: Father Alexander, they say that all great people sleep little. What is the patriarch's daily routine?

Alexander Volkov: Over decades of hard work in the Church, always under absolute time pressure, the patriarch developed a strict work schedule. And now we, the people who surround him, find ourselves in the same constant, almost unbearable time pressure. His Holiness values ​​every minute and therefore tries to optimize his time as much as possible, filling all free intervals. In his working residence in Moscow, on Chisty Lane, behind the main building there is a small old kindergarten, where in recent months, on the recommendation of doctors, he has taken up the habit of walking. So I never saw him there alone! He always calls one of the patriarchate employees. There is now even a duty jacket hanging at the entrance to this kindergarten for the people he walks with. This whole situation is a projection of a thought that he often repeats to those around him: God has given us a specific period of time to have time to do something to change the spiritual state in society. This time is by no means unlimited, so we must squeeze into each day the maximum number of things that would benefit the Church and society.

- So what time does he get up?

- Around 7 am. Then prayer, breakfast, going to work or to church. He usually arrives at his work residence around 10 o'clock, and the service begins earlier. Then meetings, work with documents until late in the evening. If he leaves home for Peredelkino at 9 pm, he definitely takes a pile of documents with him - he works after dinner. He goes to bed late every day after midnight. Doctors recommend changing the regime, but he thinks there is no possibility. Health-improving activities include the already mentioned walks, as well as not very regular, but quite intense ones physical exercise. For a clergyman, the first place of rest is worship. Orthodox worship in general is physically difficult, and patriarchal services are even more so. It is always solemn and very emotionally intense. But I have been convinced more than once that it is precisely this that gives the patriarch strength. If it turns out that the patriarch is not able to perform divine services during the week, then after a break during the service he is simply transformed, looking several years younger.

– And does it work on Sunday? But it’s not possible according to the canons?!

- Of course, Sunday is the Lord's Day. On this day, the patriarch mostly performs divine services. Meetings are never scheduled on Sunday, except in some emergency. But at the same time, he is still forced to work with documents at home.

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' prays in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Photo: Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Gift of the Preacher

– Does he really delve into all the papers he signs in detail?

– Yes, he is very attentive to any printed word that comes from him, because he understands the responsibility that lies behind all these texts. After all, each text is, in any case, an appeal to a specific person. There can be no formality in this appeal, and a person should not get the impression that this is a paper prepared by referents, to which the signatory did not personally participate. It must be said that he prepares his main, large public texts and especially sermons himself. He is one of the few people who can speak well not from a piece of paper. The Patriarch has an exceptional preaching talent. But behind each performance is his personal preliminary work.

– It seems to secular people that the head of the Church is, first of all, an economic position - so many things to do, parishes, meetings. Is not it so?

– Prayer is in the first place for any Christian, and in this any clergyman is called to be an example for people, and the Primate of the Church, of course, first of all. After all, this is a guarantee that the Church does not turn into an intercontinental corporation like the religious Gazprom. We must understand: everything that the Church does in the organizational, administrative, and economic areas of life is only so that every person can come to church and, if possible, live in accordance with the Gospel.

– Does the patriarch have relatives, a family, what kind of relationships do they have?

– Yes, the patriarch has relatives in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Saransk. When the patriarch was in Mordovia, he met with very distant relatives in the house where his grandfather lived. He treats his family very humanely, supports and preserves family relationships, never distances himself.

In Krymsk shortly after the flood. Conversation with local residents. Photo: Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

Friends as victims

- What about friends?

– The patriarch, and he himself has spoken about this more than once, cannot have friends in the sense that the head of the Church needs to be at the same, equal distance with those around him, so that there are no attempts at pressure. And in this sense, of course, this is the cross of the patriarch. He sacrificed his personal interests, affections, and communication habits for the good of the Church. There really are no close people around him who could boast of the status of “friend of the patriarch.”

– And outside the Church?

- The same. First of all, because in general the relationship of the Primate of the Church with the secular community in general and with some specific people in particular is always a very big responsibility. Although, of course, this does not negate the fact that the patriarch has many good and kind acquaintances with whom he has maintained warm relations for decades. They come to congratulate him on personal dates, on holidays, attend services, and he is always very happy to see them, communicates with pleasure, asks about life, and then says a warm goodbye, after which they most often do not see each other for a long time.

– Who is the patriarch’s confessor?

– Optina Elder Elijah, with whom he studied together at the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg. Father Eli is a confessor objectively recognized by the Orthodox Church, a man whose opinion is listened to by thousands of people. People from all over Russia and other countries come to him for fellowship and confession. 5 years ago, after his enthronement, Patriarch Kirill asked him to move from Optina Pustyn to Peredelkino. Since then, Father Eli has lived in the patriarchal residence. There on the territory there is a separate house for a small monastic community. Father Elijah lives there. Since he is very famous, visitors - ordinary people - often come to him for advice. He constantly accepts, is completely accessible, and at the same time he is the confessor of the patriarch. From my point of view, such a public presence of a spiritual father is evidence of certain life priorities. This shows: the spiritual component in life for the patriarch is the main one. Not administrative functions, not some kind of diplomatic relations, although this is necessary. But it’s not his press secretary who lives next to him, but his confessor.

Elder Iliy of Optina is the patriarch’s confessor. Photo: Press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

– People have an opinion: the patriarch is the spiritual father of President Putin. I understand that this cannot be, but is the patriarch even someone’s confessor?

– These are things that lie in the sphere of his private life, so I can’t say anything here.

– Does he have any hobbies - books, theater?

– He loves classical music – I can list Bach, Beethoven, Rachmaninov.

He usually listens to music when he works and makes some important decisions. He, of course, loves to read, like any intelligent person, but he has very little time to indulge in free reading. Hundreds of pages of documents need to be read every day. It is clear that by the end of the day, you probably just feel a slight dislike for the letters of the alphabet. But among domestic authors he likes Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Leskova. With some degree of regularity, he attends musical performances, the conservatory, and sometimes Moscow theaters. Recently I was at one of the productions of the Gorky Moscow Art Theater to congratulate him on his anniversary Tatiana Doronina.

- And the cinema?

– He doesn’t go to cinemas publicly, but several times he went to pre-screenings of films directly related to the Church.

– Watching TV?

– News programs – often, and it is clear that this is an area directly related to his work. He is obliged, so to speak, to be in the know.

Native Penates

– How does the patriarch spend his vacation?

– He doesn’t have vacations, like days off, in the usual worldly sense. 15-20 days of rest are collected, which he usually distributes over months and spends this time in solitude.

– Doesn’t he go on vacation abroad?

– Travels on official visits. During these five years, I traveled abroad several times for treatment.

– Which places in Russia are especially close to him?

– He loves his native St. Petersburg, Valaam, as well as Smolensk and Kaliningrad, where he comes about once a year, since he is still the manager of the local diocese, and also visits the spiritual and administrative center of the Russian Orthodox Church in southern Russia.

Primate's cook

– What does the patriarch like to eat and who cooks for him?

– He is not at all picky about food, he loves simple food. He also likes to try national cuisine, which he does when visiting foreign countries. It is clear that since he performs divine services and holds events in a variety of places, the patriarch’s assistants have an attentive attitude towards food. Moreover, various official receptions and protocol dinners with distinguished guests are often held. Therefore, it was decided that the patriarchate should have a permanent cook. He is not a monk, a professional in his field, he prepares food that is correct from the point of view of Orthodox traditions and canons.

– Can the patriarch afford to have a drink?

– If you need to support a toast, he usually raises a glass of white wine. Maybe in some situations he would drink stronger - in Japan he was treated to sake, in Greece, on Mount Athos - to the aniseed liqueur ouzo. In the spirit of the Orthodox tradition, in such cases he does not offend those who show him hospitality.

A taste for antiquity

– The Patriarch is a monk. In principle, he should not have his own property. But are there some things that bring him joy?

– The Patriarch, as a person brought up in the St. Petersburg environment, has very good taste and understands painting and architecture. When visiting certain dioceses, he carefully evaluates new construction and especially the decoration of churches. The tasteless remake offends his artistic sense. But he is very happy when people carefully preserve the authentic and ancient.

– What mobile phone does the patriarch have?

– I can’t say for sure – the most ordinary one, definitely not an iPhone. He almost never uses his mobile phone and treats it with some detachment, but with an understanding of the need to use it. He has been given tablets and laptops as gifts several times, but somehow he is not inclined to use them. He likes to write by hand and always has a notepad with him.

– But he knows how to work on a computer and access the Internet?

- Of course, he has a computer in his office, and he uses it when necessary. But of course he doesn't answer emails or update his Facebook account. Thank God, competent people are doing this, and he spends his time on objectively more important matters. In this way, by the way, he sets an example for us all.

– What kind of car does the patriarch have?

– For five years he used two cars Patriarch Alexy who are already 12 years old. Now His Holiness travels by means of transport provided by a special-purpose garage.

What's the hurry?

– And he doesn’t collect anything? Books?

– I don’t know how much he collects them, but he loves old books, especially theological literature. When he is given rare pre-revolutionary publications by church authors, he accepts them with gratitude. His Holiness appreciates objects that convey the atmosphere of past eras, and encourages us to take care of what has come to us from the past and that carries the meaning of that time, which we can judge, among other things, by some individual things.

– Probably, this is generally the tactics of the Russian Orthodox Church - not to rush?

- You're right. Just not tactics, but the main strategy of the Orthodox Church is to preserve and increase all that good that exists in our world and in every person. Everything that the Church does is done on the basis of centuries-old experience and the understanding that the Church has experienced terrible and tragic moments more than once in its history. But, whatever the external circumstances, the Church was, is and will exist and bring people the truth about Christ. And, probably, this is largely reflected in the human habits of the patriarch. He has a deeply church-going consciousness. From morning to evening, he lives a 100% church life, and in this sense, I really want each of us to have such a life to some noticeable percentage.

Patriarch Kirill: biography

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

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

Upon completion of 8th grade high school Vladimir Gundyaev joined the Leningrad Complex Geological Expedition of the North-Western Geological Directorate, where he worked from 1962 to 1965 as a cartographic technician, combining work with studying in high school.

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

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

Since 1970 - Candidate of Theology at the Leningrad Theological Academy.

From 1970 to 1971 - teacher of dogmatic theology and assistant inspector of Leningrad theological schools; at the same time - personal secretary of Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad and Novgorod and class teacher of the 1st class of the seminary.

From 1971 to 1974 - representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

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

On March 14, 1976 he was consecrated Bishop of Vyborg. On September 2, 1977, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.

Since 1986 - manager of parishes in the Kaliningrad region.

Since 1988 - Archbishop of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

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

On January 27, 2009, the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church elected Metropolitan Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Private life of Patriarch Kirill. Footage released to the media for the first time

The footage in which the Primate is presented was not taken for the “record”, and has not previously been published in newspapers and magazines - they are part of privacy His Holiness. “AiF” turned out to be the only newspaper to which Father Alexander Volkov, the Patriarch’s press secretary, provided them and told under what circumstances they were removed.

Patriarch on Valaam, one of his favorite places in his native land.

Patriarchal visit to Valaam in 2009. Meeting with V. Putin. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has developed good relations with the President of the Russian Federation.

Unique photo - The Patriarch takes a daily walk in the garden at his residence in Chisty Lane, Moscow. With him are employees of the Patriarchate, they are resolving work issues...

Visit to Mordovia in 2011. The Patriarch visited the village of Obrochnoye, where his grandfather lived, and talked with his relatives over a cup of tea.

With the brethren of the Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Mount Athos in Greece in 2013.

A girl at the Patriarchal service. The Holy One finds it easily mutual language with children of all ages.

The Patriarch serves in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra in the first week of Great Lent.

March 8th, 2015

Actually, there are many links on the Internet on this topic, whoever has written about it, from Deacon Kuraev to Stas Sadalsky:
http://blagin-anton.livejournal.com/46223.html
http://wap.nazionalizm.forum24.ru/?1-8-0-00000049-000-0-0-1251218670
http://irizz.livejournal.com/117597.html
http://i-hate-the-snow.livejournal.com/46649.html
http://www.luchmir.com/Declarations/2Slovo09.htm
http://forum.dpni.org/archive/index.php/t-36574.html?s=
http://3rm.info/index.php?newsid=1294

This is almost a recognition for future generations, isn't it?

I was interested in the words of A. Nevzorov in his interview on Echo this week:

O. Bychkova – In the history of modern Russia, all murders are mysterious. Because 20 years have passed since Listyev was killed and nothing is still clear.

A. Nevzorov – Yes, everything is clear there. There, simply no one will stir up that pile anymore, because in fact, both the customers and the performers have all been dead a long time ago. And there is, for example, the death of Ridiger, Alexy II, where not even a criminal case was initiated. Where was it released with such soft brakes, besides, I will tell you as an anatomist that in order to crush the posterior ear vein by hitting a toilet or some hard surface, in a small room, you need to hit this hard surface 15 times, and each time do this with increasing force. Because it is very well protected, and it has, as anatomists know, such unpleasant slipperiness. And there wasn’t even a criminal case. And no investigative experiments or anything at all.

Here's more about it:

About how the High Priest of Putin’s Reich, Patriarch Kirill, amassed his billion-dollar capital on speculation in tobacco and alcohol and oil (exempt from taxes and excise taxes) in the dashing 90s, how he, the head of the gangster empire of the Russian Orthodox Church, eliminated and liquidated his competitors, many have already written. Yes, yes, in those same dashing 90s, about which he once put it this way:

"That huge role in correcting this the crookedness of our history(the dashing 90s) were played by you personally, Vladimir Vladimirovich. I would like to thank you. You once said that you work like a slave on the galleys, with the only difference that the slave did not have such a return, but you have a very high return.”

All patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, including the current one, are KGB officers:

During the criminal tobacco war of the 90s, the winner of which was the future Patriarch, and then the head of the shadow business of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Gundyaev, many people were killed, including Zhirinovsky’s assistant Gennady Dzen, a bandit from Smolensk, the head of Roscontractpostavka, and another his assistant, Alexander Frantskevich. Zhirik himself also took part in this war. In those years, Gundyaev was assigned the thieves' pogonyalovo "Tabachny", but now he is more often called by another nickname - Lyzhneg, because he loves to ride alpine skiing in the soulless geyrope country of the evergreen doormen of Switzerland, where he has his own villa, to which he flies on his own plane.

Materials from the KGB archives, studied in 1992 by a parliamentary commission headed by dissident priest Fr. Gleb Yakunin, revealed that most of the church hierarchy had ties to the secret police.

62-year-old Kirill Gundyaev bore the code name "Mikhailov", and Filaret was identified as agent "Ostrovsky". It is suspected that Kliment worked for the KGB under the pseudonym "Topaz".

Metropolitan Filaret, appointed Metropolitan of Minsk in 1978, was the head of the Department for External Church Relations in the eighties. In 1989, this powerful structure was headed by Metropolitan Kirill.

At the beginning of 1992, a commission of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Russia officially drew the attention of the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church to the “deep infiltration of intelligence agencies” into the Church, which “represents a serious danger to society and the state.” That same year, meeting with Moscow State University students, Kirill asserted: “The fact of a meeting between the clergy and KGB representatives is morally indifferent.”

In addition to the villa in Switzerland, the Tobacco Ski-Patriarch has palaces in Peredelkino, in the Danilov Monastery, in Gelendzhik, next to Putin’s palace, and a penthouse with a terrace in the House on the Embankment - overlooking the Cathedral of Christ the Savior:

And the ex right hand His Eminence - Bishop Victor (in the world - Pyankov) now, having stolen, lives in the sinful States as a private person. Surely he indulges in fasting and prayers and, as Zhvanetsky said, “he’s terribly sorry.”

Read more in Novaya Gazeta, and also or see for yourself:

Since then, Gundyaev’s palace near Gelendzhik, for the sake of which the protected forest of red and other unique trees was cut down, has long been built. This is how the main priest of Russian morality lives:

Kirill’s residence, which occupied the entire territory from the sea to the highway, not only “gnawed off” half a kilometer of public shoreline and road, but also blocked people’s last opportunity for safe access to the forest and cemetery. Now they need to make a detour not a kilometer long, but three kilometers (!), one of which is along the highway.

This road was called “The Road of Death” because people die on it.
And all so that someone could stick out their belly and no one could see it.

When the Rev. Comrade came from Gebnya. Gundyaev, who replaced Alexy II, who was killed by him, the area of ​​the residence increased 10 times (!), and 12.7 hectares of the State Forest Fund, covered with relict Pitsunda pine, were transferred for development, cutting down and complete fencing of the church, which were to be built up, cut down or fenced off THE LAW PROHIBITS IN PRINCIPLE.

About how community long years tried to fight against all these lawlessness, read, there are a lot of details, links, photographs and documents there.

The Patriarch still loves not only to teach people about life (well, for example: “ It is very important to learn Christian asceticism... Asceticism is the ability to regulate one’s consumption... This is a person’s victory over lust, over passions, over instinct. And it is important that both rich and poor possess this quality"), but also to brag about corruption and brand corrupt officials:

Asceticism is a good thing, especially when your fortune is 4 times greater than that of Rottenberg Sr. and 8 times that of Rottenberg Jr., and this does not even take into account the cost of the almost billion-dollar palace in Gelendzhik.

Such an ascetic Caudla...

P.S. As the famous philosopher Boris Paramonov writes, what Patriarch Gundyaev has in common with the spiritless geyropa is not only that he skis there, like Pastor Shlak. As it turns out, the patriarch himself is:
“We could talk about similar scandals in the Russian Orthodox Church. But here Deacon Kuraev has already said a lot. Except to remember that Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) of Leningrad was a homosexual, which everyone knew about, even my church-going mother-in-law. The current patriarch was with him, as they say in church language, “a night cell attendant” or, as it is written in Wikipedia, “performed the obedience of a personal secretary.”