Gundyaev Kirill: biography, photo, family, wife and children, career

Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev
(1907 - 1974), mitered archpriest, rector of St. Nicholas Church on Bolshaya Okhta. Born on January 18 [1] 1907 in the city of Lukoyanov, Nizhny Novgorod province, in the family of a railway driver Vasily Gundyaev, who later became a priest.

From early childhood I dreamed of becoming a priest. Therefore, after graduating from high school, he remained in the city of Lukoyanov to undergo obedience to the local archpastor, Bishop Sergius of Lukoyanov. The young man performed the duties of subdeacon and secretary under the bishop.

In 1926, he entered the Higher Theological Courses in Leningrad, where he studied until 1928, listening to lectures by famous professors and diligently studying under their guidance. He collected an excellent manuscript library compiled from the lecture notes of these eminent scientists. However, much later, these notes played a very unexpected and sad role in the fate of the young theologian, becoming material evidence during the investigation into the case of Mikhail Gundyaev, who was accused, among other things, of intending to commit an attempt on the life of Comrade Stalin.

While still a student at the Higher Theological Courses, he simultaneously sang in the choir of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Leningrad and actively participated in parish life, serving as a psalm-reader in the rural church in the village of Kamenka [2].

In August 1928, the Higher Theological Courses were closed, Mikhail was drafted into the Red Army, where he served for two years.

Upon returning to Leningrad, he went to work, combining it with studies at the Mechanical College, which he successfully graduated in 1933. This technical school was the only educational institution in the city where it turned out that it was possible to enter if you had a record of studying at Higher Theological Courses in your personal file. It was for this reason that Mikhail’s documents were not accepted at the medical institute, which he initially chose, intending to study to become a doctor.

After graduating from the Mechanical College, he entered the Leningrad Industrial Institute.

The year 1934 arrived, which in Soviet history was marked by the murder of Kirov and a wide wave of arrests that followed this assassination attempt and began directly in Leningrad. Among many, the future priest Mikhail Gundyaev was arrested. The main reason for the arrest was his active church activities in the parish and singing in the choir. These facts in themselves prompted the atheistic authorities to react harshly, and when it came to a young man with a good secular education, they looked doubly suspicious.

During a search in his room, they found a collection of the mentioned lecture notes on theological disciplines, and the mere fact that the word “God” was written in capital letters in them was absolutely enough to accuse the young man of political disloyalty and initiate an investigation his "deeds". Having discovered these notes and quickly leafed through them, the operative in charge of the search remarked with satisfaction: “We won’t look for anything else. What is written here is quite enough.”

The arrest occurred a few days before the scheduled wedding of Mikhail Gundyaev. He met his future wife Raisa Vladimirovna Kuchina in the church of the Kyiv courtyard, where the girl, at that time a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages, also sang in the church choir. The young people fell in love with each other and decided to get married; the wedding day had already been set...

During the investigation, they tried by all means to extort a confession from Mikhail Gundyaev that he was preparing an assassination attempt on Stalin. The investigator even threatened to shoot him without trial if he refused, but the arrested man stood firm that under no circumstances would he take responsibility for something he had never done. One day he asked the investigator what seemed to him a completely rhetorical question: “How could a Leningrad student commit an attempt on the life of a leader who not only lives in Moscow, but is also under constant guard?”

The investigator perked up:
“This is exactly what interests us.
Therefore, right now, write sincerely how, while living in the city of Leningrad, you planned to commit a terrorist attack in Moscow against Comrade Stalin.” Mikhail categorically refused to incriminate himself and others. As a result, he received three years in the Kolyma camps.

Being a gifted and energetic person, he organized a training center in places of detention, where he himself taught a number of technical disciplines. The camp authorities valued him so much that he was even offered, after his release and marriage, to continue the work he had started as a civilian. After thinking about it, Mikhail was going to do just that: to return to these parts with his young wife and live here for some more time in order to at least slightly improve his disastrous financial situation.

He was released on the eve of 1937. After the New Year holidays, Mikhail came to the camp administration to sign an agreement providing for his return to Kolyma. And here a miracle happened that saved the life of him and his future family. The woman who was sitting in the office of the Gulag Dalstroy, after listening to him, behaved in a completely incomprehensible way. Her face became angry, and in a half-whisper she ordered the visitor to leave immediately and never appear here again. Yesterday's prisoner left the office completely discouraged, and literally a week later mass repressions swept across the Gulag. And if he had signed the agreement, as he intended, he would probably have gone to Magadan not as a civilian worker, but as a prisoner. Because it was at this time that the civilian employees of the Gulag were transferred to the category of prisoners, and mass executions were carried out among the prisoners.

In the pre-war years, he worked at Leningrad enterprises, progressing from a turner to a process technician, designer and workshop manager. The beginning of the war found him in the position of chief mechanic at a military plant in Leningrad. During the days of the siege, he participated in the construction of defensive fortifications around the city. In 1943, he was drafted into the active army, in whose ranks he remained until the end of the Great Patriotic War. After demobilization, he continued to work in his civilian profession. And in 1947, he submitted a petition for ordination to Metropolitan Gregory of Leningrad and Novgorod, his former rector for Higher Theological Courses.

This puzzled the Metropolitan, since Mikhail Vasilyevich’s official position was quite noticeable, and this step of his seemed quite extraordinary. At that time, Bishop Gregory told the visitor: “If you really want to change your Leningrad apartment to live in the most remote parish of the Leningrad diocese, in the village of Petrova Gorka on the border with the Pskov region, then I will ordain you. But don’t count on serving in the city of Leningrad. So go and consult with your wife.”

At the family council, it was decided to go to a remote parish.

The deacon's ordination was performed on March 9, 1947, and the priest's ordination on March 16, 1947 in the Leningrad St. Nicholas Cathedral, where the future father Mikhail was once married. But he received an appointment not to a distant parish, but to the church in honor of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God on Vasilyevsky Island.

Beginning in 1949, articles of a propagandistic atheistic nature began to appear regularly in the Soviet press, and there was a distinct chill in church-state relations.

In Leningrad, they decided to fight religion and clergy using the financial mechanisms at the disposal of the secular authorities. At the head of the financial department of the city executive committee (gorfo), which was also in charge of taxes and fees, was someone named Mantsvetov, who was the son of a priest. This official developed an ingenious taxation system, which began to be applied to the ministers of the Church. Using information received from individuals who, apparently, were specially infiltrated into Leningrad parishes, the Gorfo imposed unaffordable taxes on the clergy. However, these colossal charges could be written off and forgiven by the state if the clergy left their church ministry and moved on to any other work in the so-called national economy.

So a huge tax of 120 thousand rubles was imposed on Father Mikhail. This money is difficult to correlate with today’s price order, but suffice it to say that the Pobeda car, which was very good at that time, the purchase of which even a wealthy citizen would have needed to save for more than one year, cost 16 thousand rubles, that is, seven and a half times less . As a result, the court seized the salary of Mikhail’s father, and then the furniture in the apartment where he lived with his family was described. However, this seemed insufficient to the authorities, and therefore, according to the court decision, the priest had to either pay the missing part of the draconian tax or go to prison. The money required by the state had to be collected from Leningrad churches, as well as (for the most part) from friends and acquaintances. Father Mikhail had a wide circle of acquaintances in various layers of the then Leningrad intelligentsia. Among these people were academicians and professors, a fairly wealthy people at that time. And thanks to the joint efforts of all Orthodox Christians who wanted to help their brother in his hopeless situation, the required amount was collected and contributed.

True, the consequence of this was that until the beginning of the 1970s, that is, almost until his death, Father Mikhail was paying off exorbitant debts. This left an imprint on the existence and prosperity of his family, which was forced to live very modestly, and sometimes even endure poverty.

The ministry of Father Mikhail Gundyaev was very successful, he preached a lot and well, and a large flock gathered around him. Such popularity of Father Michael as a shepherd and preacher aroused the approval of his diocesan authorities, but irritated the secular authorities.

In 1951, priest Mikhail was transferred to the Transfiguration Cathedral, where after a short time he began to serve as assistant rector for liturgical services.

In 1957 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest.

In 1959 he was appointed assistant dean. A year later, he was unexpectedly removed from the Transfiguration Cathedral, transferred to the Leningrad region as rector of the temple in the name of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky in Krasnoe Selo. More than three thousand believers took part in the farewell of their beloved shepherd. The city authorities were frightened and alarmed by such a demonstration of popular acceptance.

At the end of the 1950s, he entered the Leningrad Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1961.

In 1964 he entered the Leningrad Theological Academy. He successfully graduated from it in 1970, defending his dissertation for the degree of candidate of theology.

In 1970 he was appointed rector of the Seraphim Church in Leningrad.

In 1972 he became rector of St. Nicholas Church on Bolshaya Okhta.

In his official characteristics, stored in the diocesan archives, one can read:
“A convinced, disciplined and deeply respected shepherd and person.
He is distinguished by his modest character. A wonderful and sympathetic colleague. A good preacher. He performs divine services and religious services earnestly and soulfully with excellent diction. Reliably fulfills all spiritual requests of believers outside the territory of the cathedral, without any selfish motives, based solely on pastoral considerations. Currently studying at the correspondence department of the Theological Seminary...” He died on October 13, 1974. During his life, he was constantly surrounded by many people who loved and respected the shepherd. They came to see him off on his final journey. He was buried in the Bolsheokhtinsky cemetery, near the altar wall of the church, where he presided before his death.

He was married to Raisa Vladimirovna Gundyaeva (nee Kuchina) (November 7, 1909 - November 2, 1984), a teacher of German at school, in recent years a housewife, children: Nikolai (1940), archpriest, Vladimir (in monasticism Kirill) (1946 ), Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and Elena (1949), Orthodox teacher.

Family

According to the official biography, Kirill Gundyaev’s family was deeply religious, even though the church was persecuted at that time. His grandfather Vasily Stepanovich, born in 1879, was an ordinary machinist, but became interested in theological literature. Already in 1922, he was exiled to Solovki following a denunciation from his opponents. They were from the Renovationist movement - a religious movement in opposition to the Orthodox. After the war, he continued to be supported by the Soviets for some time. Vasily opposed them. In the camps, he continued to conduct religious services in secret; there is evidence that for this he was punished once - he lived in a punishment cell for a month. He stayed there until 1955.

The biography of Father Kirill Gundyaev is interesting. It was Mikhail Vasilyevich, who dreamed of serving in the church from an early age. After graduating from school, he managed to work in a church, and in 1926 he already studied at the Higher Theological Courses in Leningrad.

He established himself as a diligent student. However, after 2 years the courses were closed, and he ended up in the army. After service, he studied at a technical school and then at an industrial university. Mikhail’s plans were to become a doctor, but due to the fact that he failed in theology courses, he was not admitted to this profession.

In 1934, Kirill Gundyaev’s father was arrested for serving in the church and singing in the choir. This happened a couple of days before the wedding. Mikhail was accused of attempting to assassinate Stalin. His bride, and later wife, Raisa Kuchina, born in 1909, was a German language teacher. She was also religious and participated in church hymns, during which she met Michael. They lived together for 3 years in Kolyma. Then they returned to Leningrad, where Mikhail went to work at a factory. In 1940, their first son, Nikolai, was born.

During the war, Mikhail strengthened the besieged city, and since 1943 he fought at the front. Since 1945, after the victory, the family lived in Leningrad, which was recovering from the blockade. Then Vladimir, the second son, appeared in her. During this period of time, the Soviet government was establishing relations with the church, and Mikhail, at the risk of his entire family, achieved ordination. Since 1947, he became a deacon and served in the Church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God.

According to some studies, Kirill Gundyaev’s nationality is Mordvin. The thing is that his last name comes from the name Gundyai. According to the official biography of Kirill Gundyaev, he is Russian by nationality.

Childhood

The childhood biography of Kirill Gundyaev unfolds against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between the state and the church. For serving, his father received an incredible fine of 120,000 rubles. For example, a new Pobeda car in those days cost 15,000, and the wealthiest people could save for it for several years. Some money was collected in the parishes, but by his actions Mikhail brought his entire large family to a state of extreme need, which continued until their death. In addition to 2 sons, by that time the couple had a daughter, Elena, born in 1949.

At that time, the family always depended heavily on the father. Both the children and Gundyaev’s wife lived in dire poverty and were forced to accept food from parishioners who took pity on them.

Salary and property

Officially, Patriarch Kirill annually earns about half a million rubles.

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According to unofficial data, Patriarch Kirill’s property exceeded $10 billion. Officially, he only owns an apartment in Moscow, donated by Yeltsin, worth 90 million rubles... The one with the wonderful dust)) Details are below.

Salaries of clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the capital range from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles per month, and in regional churches - even less. Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, during his participation in a television program, reported how the salaries of priests are calculated.

— The financial condition of a parish depends on where it is located and how many parishioners there are. Especially poor churches are in rural areas. Sometimes priests live not just modestly, but very poorly.

School years

The grandfather who returned after imprisonment in Solovki greatly influenced the worldview of the younger Gundyaevs. He told his grandchildren that no trials that claimed many lives caused fear in him. Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev himself emphasized in his biography that for him it was “the image of a man who knew what God’s love is.”

Vladimir started going to school as if it were torture. He was an opponent of communism and did not join either the pioneers or the Komsomol. The school director asked him to wear a pioneer tie, but he said that he would wear it to church. Despite the constant discussion at teacher councils, Vladimir studied well. Most of all he was interested in physics and other exact disciplines.

Interesting financial facts

• The property of Patriarch Kirill can be supplemented with several dozen books that he wrote independently or in co-authorship. Each publication brings a pretty penny to its author.
• The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is an ardent fan of alpine skiing. Whenever possible, the Patriarch goes for a ride, despite his advanced age. And professional ski equipment costs a lot. So we can add another expensive pleasure to Kirill’s piggy bank.

“We live today as richly as we have never lived since the revolution. And therefore, a slight decrease in our standard of living cannot be the reason for the destruction of national identity” - Patriarch Kirill on the economic crisis in Russia.

Education

With the end of eight years, Volodya decided not to study further, but to live independently. The future patriarch Kirill Gundyaev was filled with a desire not to burden his family living in extreme need, which was still raising their youngest daughter.

He got a job at the evening faculty, and since 1962 he worked in cartography of the Leningrad complex geological expedition. However, then the biography of Kirill Gundyaev turned towards his father. He went to the theological academy.

The true biography of Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev was that he completed his training there according to an accelerated program, thanks to the requirements of Metropolitan N. Rotov, whose secretary he later became. This happened in 1970.

Interestingly, his brother and sister also became clergy in the future, when he gained influence.

Briefly about personality

• Real name: Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyaev;
• Date of birth: November 20, 1946;
• Place of birth: Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR;
• Place of residence – Moscow;
• Education – Leningrad Theological Academy;
• Russian citizenship;
• Religion – Orthodoxy;
• Family: Father - Mikhail Vasilyevich Gundyaev (01/18/1907 - 1310/1974), Mother - Raisa Vladimirovna Gundyaeva (11/07/1909 - 11/02/1984), Elder brother - Archpriest Nikolai Gundyaev (11/18/1940), Younger sister Elena (05/08/1949) ;
• Position – Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus';
• Hobbies – Sports, writing.
• The Patriarch has pages on social networks VKontakte: Patriarch Kirill Facebook: Patriarch Kirill

Religious activities

In 1969, Kirill Gundyaev took monastic vows. It was at this moment that Vladimir received the name Kirill, became a hierodeacon, and then a hieromonk. A year later, he was graduated from the academy with honors and received the degree of candidate of theological sciences.

At the same time, he was Rotov’s secretary and a teacher at the same academy from which he was graduated. In 1971 he became an archimandrite, and since October he has been rector of an Orthodox church in Geneva, Switzerland. From that moment on, he began to rise up the career ladder. It took him only 20 years to go from archimandrite to metropolitan. Metropolitan Kirill Gundyaev became chairman of the commission in the Holy Synod. It was she who solved all the problems facing the Russian Orthodox Church.

Social activity

In the 1990s, the biography of Kirill Gundyaev takes a turn towards active social activities. In 1994, the program “The Word of the Shepherd” was broadcast on television, in which he was the main character. In addition, he developed the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. He chaired the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church MP. Kirill was an active participant in relations between the state and the church.

In 2000, he achieved the adoption of the “Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church.” It was there that the position of Orthodoxy in relation to the state was set out.

The joint work of the Government of the Russian Federation and Kirill Gundyaev began in 1995. He acted as a consultant on many issues. With his input, many decisions related to the Chechen War were made. Kirill Gundyaev organized numerous cultural events in his youth.

So, it was he who organized a holiday in honor of the 2000th anniversary of Christianity on behalf of Russia in several countries. He was an active public figure before his enthronement.

Among other things, Kirill Gundyaev is the author of a number of articles and books. He is actively involved in scientific and educational activities, proclaiming the unity of Christians everywhere. He became one of the honorary members of domestic and foreign theological academies, and became a member of the Commission on State Prizes for Achievements in Literature.

With Vladimir Putin

Being passionate and dedicated to the cause, he repeatedly noted that radical preachers should be treated with caution. He made similar statements several times. As the Patriarch said, there are more and more false teachers in Russia, and they are plunging parishioners into confusion. Behind their beautiful ideal slogans there are weapons that destroy the Church. The Patriarch was spotted more than once at meetings with Vladimir Putin. His activities greatly helped the president’s policies.

Scandals

Kirill became a participant in a number of scandals that thundered throughout the country. The first such story in which his name was highlighted was the case of the application of tax breaks on the import of alcohol and tobacco products in the 1990s.

According to Novaya Gazeta, he was personally interested in completing a transaction related to the import of these goods. But many religious leaders made statements that all this was just a provocation of enemies. This campaign was allegedly planned by ill-wishers, wanting to tarnish the name of a religious person.

In addition, it is noted that Kirill Gundyaev was photographed more than once and was convicted of interacting with the KGB. In 2003, V. Putin read a letter from a priest of the Moscow Helsinki Group stating that the Patriarch was a KGB agent. But this action was considered in society as a provocation directed against him. This action did not result in any result.

Since 2010, the Patriarch again became a participant in a high-profile scandal. According to the biography of Kirill Gundyaev, the patriarch’s cohabitant and comrade-in-arms found a large layer of dust in his apartment. She called a commission, which determined that the substances ended up in the apartment due to renovations being carried out below. Priest Yuri Shevchenko lived there. But the scandal was that the examination revealed the presence of carcinogenic substances in the dust. As a result, the damage caused to the Patriarch’s property was estimated at 20 million rubles. According to the biography of Kirill Gundyaev, the cohabitant sued this amount from the neighbor below, and the press was interested in its presence with the Patriarch. Everyone began to find out the status of the woman who apparently lived in the same apartment with him. Then, much later, the owner of the apartment said that it was presented by Yu. Luzhkov’s deputy by order of B. Yeltsin, but the Patriarch did not live in it for more than a week, but gave it to his second cousin, who discovered a layer of dust.

The next scandal in the biography of Kirill Gundyaev is about his condition. In 2012, a photograph of him was published on the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church, where Kirill was wearing an expensive Brequet watch. The clock was then removed from this photo, but remained reflected on the table. The press service of the Russian Orthodox Church called this case an absurdity due to an editor's mistake.

And soon the real version, where the watch was, was published again.

The essence of the scandal was that this watch cost 30,000 euros, and the Patriarch himself first stated in the media that the presence of the watch was drawn in Photoshop, and then called it a gift. All this caused heated discussions in society about the role of the Church and about the money of taxpayers and parishioners. Kirill himself in his sermons calls not to strive for a good, prosperous life.

In addition, the foreign press estimated the Patriarch’s fortune at $4 billion. He owns more than one of the most expensive cars, a yacht, an airplane and expensive watches. But Kirill himself fights off media attacks, emphasizing that all funds received by the church are used for their intended purpose. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church opened Orthodox schools and charitable foundations. According to the Patriarch himself, all accusers only seek to humiliate the Russian Orthodox Church and criticize Orthodoxy in our country.

However, according to opinion polls, Kirill is supported by 99% of the population, but the World Wide Web shows a high degree of dissatisfaction with him against the backdrop of many scandals, which even years later are the subject of people’s indignation.

For the most part, what people care about is that he was not entitled to all the luxuries that he had. After all, according to church laws, which he actively promotes, he has no right to acquire all this. It is curious that the heads of a number of European states, obviously having the opportunity to live luxuriously, live much more simply and modestly than the Russian Patriarch, although they do not have a law prohibiting luxury. This is often noticed in connection with the name Kirill. Who really dedicates themselves entirely to their work?

Scandalous associated with the name of the Patriarch

Although church representatives are usually associated with something sublime and beneficent, Patriarch Kirill consistently appears in the news headlines in a less than rosy light. Throughout the history of ministry, many scandals have been associated with his name.

Gundyaev and Yaponchik are the same person

Yaponchik, aka Vyacheslav Kirillovich Ivankov, is a notorious crime boss and thief in law in Russia, the leader of an organized crime group in Moscow. According to official data, he died in October 2009. However, in 2015, users of social networks noticed a striking similarity between the deceased authority and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. The uproar over this news continued for several years. Opinion was divided - some considered it a mere coincidence, others - that during the six months between the “death” of Ivanko and the “election” of Kirill, a substitution took place. The real Kirill was most likely eliminated as unnecessary.

“200 Temples” Program

In ten years, the Russian Orthodox Church has acquired almost 10,000 new churches. If in 2009 there were 29,000, then by 2021 there will already be 38,000. The largest in terms of parishes is the Moscow Diocese, which is headed by the Patriarch himself. The program involves the construction of an Orthodox church in every residential area. In many places this led to the development of park areas, which caused violent indignation among the population.

Naked girls on a yacht

In the summer of 2021, another scandal broke out around the famous “Pallada”. People were able to photograph unknown half-naked people relaxing on a yacht, which is officially considered the property of the Russian Orthodox Church. Most of all, people were outraged by the half-naked girl. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church were unable to comment on the photo with a girl in a bikini on Gundyaev’s yacht.

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Personal life

In the biography of Kirill Gundyaev, the family and children were never mentioned. But after that scandal with dusty property, the press learned that Lydia Leonova was registered in his personal apartment, about whom little is known, despite the hype raised in all the media. Journalists managed to find out that she was the daughter of a cook in the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU.

The press caught the priest in cohabitation with a representative of the fair sex, and he himself called her his second cousin. Moreover, the media dubbed him a family man, having found a photograph of him with this woman from 1988. But the Patriarch himself claims that, since he serves God, he has renounced love affairs and devotes himself entirely to service. Therefore, he does not have any cohabitants.

Income of heads of other religions compared to Patriarch Kirill

Most religious leaders do not have an official salary - they live off donations from their parish, as well as financial assistance from the state. The heads of the main religious denominations: Talgat Tadzhuddin (chief mufti of the Russian Federation), Berl Lazar (chief rabbi of the Russian Federation), Damba Badmaevich Ayusheev (Buddhism) have an official annual income at the level of Patriarch Kirill’s salary for the year - 480,000 rubles ($7471).

By comparison, Pope Francis has no official salary, but can receive a pension benefit of €24,000 (RUB 1,705,070).

Activity details

Since February 1991, by decree of Patriarch Alexy II, Kirill became metropolitan.

In 1993, he was co-chairman, and already in 1995, deputy head of the World Russian People's Council. In 1994, he became honorary president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace. In February 1994 he became a member of the Synodal Theological Commission.

In 1995-2000, Kirill became the head of the Synodal working group to develop the concept of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of church-state relations and problems of Russian society.

In December 2008, he announced to the media that he was categorically against reforming Orthodoxy in any form.

Then, having met with students at the Sretensky Theological Seminary, he stated that the main task of the church before the revolution was the creation of a believing intelligentsia, which was the dream of Anthony Khrapovitsky (who was banned by the Moscow Patriarchate). But this was not done, which resulted in subsequent troubles for Orthodoxy.

He was the first in modern history to perform the rite of washing feet in April 2009.

He also stated that Kyiv is Constantinople for the Orthodox and has its own Hagia Sophia, and is also considered the spiritual center and southern capital of Orthodoxy.

In 2009, he announced that the main criterion in assessing the work of the Russian Orthodox Church is not how full the churches are, but the spiritual state of society.

This manifested itself in 2005 in the ban on holding a parade of sexual minorities in Moscow. Kirill supported Yuri Luzhkov in this decision. Since 2008, the Patriarch has fiercely condemned homosexuality, but at the same time noted that people with an innate orientation can live as they see fit.

The Patriarch also made his contribution to the cause of the punk group Pussy Riot, which danced in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Largely thanks to him, in August 2012, 3 young girls were sentenced under the article of hooliganism, after which they were imprisoned for 2 years and served their sentences in general regime colonies.

All this also caused a wave of indignation on the World Wide Web both in Russia and abroad. But the Moscow Patriarchate itself stated that the whole point is that there is an entire campaign seeking to discredit the name of Kirill. Even he himself announced in the television program “The Word of the Shepherd” that people “who criticize the church” “demand spiritual healing.”

His first foreign visit as Patriarch was a trip to Istanbul to the Patriarch of Constantinople. As a result, it was stated that relations with foreign colleagues began to warm up.

According to the results of a sociological survey conducted in June 2012 by VTsIOM, 46% of respondents treated the Patriarch with respect, 27% arouse 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, Kirill appeared on the social network Facebook with the account PatriarhKirill, but back in May of the same year, the deputy head of the press service of the Moscow Patriarchate indicated that the account was not Gundyaev’s personal page, but it would be an official resource of the patriarchate. He noted that there would be no way to contact Kirill directly.

In September 2012, he was invited by the primate of the Polish Orthodox Church to Poland, where the main religion is Catholicism. This meeting pursued more political goals, becoming a serious step towards establishing contact with the Holy See. These events caused a positive reaction in the Vatican.

In June 2013, Kirill visited Greece, meeting with the Pontic Greeks. Then I visited Transnistria.

In 2015, Kirill took 8th place in the ranking of “100 Leading Politicians of the Russian Federation” from the Agency for Political and Economic Communications.

He is currently the author of about 500 publications in the media.

It is interesting that with the collapse of the USSR, the Commission of the Presidium of the Russian Armed Forces to investigate the causes and circumstances of the State Emergency Committee concluded that the KGB used the church to recruit and send their agents into it. Thus, a number of church leaders were indeed agents of this structure.

Having compared the known foreign trips of agent “Mikhailov” and Kirill, the commission developed the point of view that these persons are identical. It was then that the famous letter was sent to V. Putin stating that the Patriarch was an employee of the KGB.

Kirill’s trip to Ukraine after receiving an invitation from the Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in 2009 was accompanied by mass unrest and protests from a number of church associations.

At his speech at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, he criticized “the influence of the ideas of the Enlightenment and the philosophical ideas of liberalism on Western Christian theology.”

In August, the Patriarch made a statement that he would not refuse to spend 6 months in Kyiv and 6 months in Moscow, and could become a Ukrainian citizen. But a day later, Archbishop Mitrofan called these words a joke.

In the end, according to newspaper reports, the circle of security officials did not like Kirill’s actions during his visit to Ukraine.

During his visit to Belarus, Kirill addressed the people from the porch of the church and announced that he considered himself the Patriarch of the people who emerged from the Kyiv baptismal font. He thereby emphasized that the Patriarchate will not reduce the boundaries of its activities in accordance with the border that arose after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

These words essentially cast doubt on his recognition of the sovereignty of a number of states. He himself stated that some countries have recognized their sovereignty, but are not able to make decisions in accordance with their own interests. This caused a strong negative reaction in society.

The size of Patriarch Kirill's fortune for 2021

According to experts, in 2004 the Metropolitan managed assets worth $1.5 billion. In 2005, as a result of the work of the ROC, assets increased to $5 billion. As of 2021, Kirill’s fortune is estimated at several tens of billions of dollars. However, the Patriarch does not consider himself rich, emphasizing that all this property is the property of the church, and not his personal assets.

In addition, the main income of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as the Patriarch, comes from donations from parishioners, which amount to millions of dollars. After all, some of the believers are on the Forbes list)) In addition, the organization annually receives assistance from the state in the amount of about 370 million rubles for charitable purposes - restoration of churches, helping the needy, purchasing necessary utensils and property. Considering all these sources, the exact net worth of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is almost impossible to determine, but rough estimates put it at $10 billion.