30 years of the first free elections of the Patriarch

Three decades ago, Alexy II became Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'

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Rivalry for the main post of the Russian Orthodox Church developed between him and Metropolitan Philaret of Kyiv. Before the elections, the Ukrainian went to the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Anatoly Lukyanov and asked to help him become a patriarch. But the authorities - for the first time in Soviet history - refused to interfere in the religious issue. Metropolitan Alexy won: 166 out of 316 delegates voted for him. For Filaret it was a shock. Video cameras captured: when he read out the voting results, tears flowed from his eyes from resentment. So he wanted to take this post! Therefore, as soon as Ukraine declared independence, Filaret announced a complete break with the Moscow Patriarchate, and appointed himself “Patriarch of Kyiv.”

Alexy II became the 15th primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The time of his patriarchate was marked by a rapid revival of religious life in Russia. Thousands of churches and monasteries were restored, educational work was resumed, and new seminaries, Christian schools and universities were opened. How has the Russian Orthodox Church changed over three decades?

Vladimir Putin and Sergei Shoigu at the opening of the main temple of the Russian Armed Forces - the Resurrection of Christ. Photo: © Reuters

Revival of true faith

1991 - The Council for Religious Affairs was abolished. The 4th department of the 5th directorate of the KGB, which controlled the Church, was liquidated.
1992 - schismatic Filaret (Denisenko) announced the creation of the “Kyiv Patriarchate”.
1999 - The restoration of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1931, was completed.
2007 - reunification with the Russian Church Abroad. It now includes about 400 parishes that have merged with the Russian Orthodox Church.
2009 - Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) was elected Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church.
2016 - to the Russian Church ??Catholic Church of the East from the USA with approximately 60 communities.

Photo: Legion-media.ru

In the 2010s, the limits of the “canonical territory,” according to new editions of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, were also expanded to the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and Mongolia.
2011 - reform of the diocesan structure, as a result of which a three-stage system began to operate in the Russian Orthodox Church: Patriarchate - Metropolis - Diocese. The number of dioceses and bishops increased significantly.
2018 - in connection with the decision of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to grant autocephaly to the church in Ukraine, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to interrupt Eucharistic communion with it.
2019 - The Archdiocese of Orthodox Russian Churches in Western Europe, consisting of approximately 60 parishes and 6 monasteries, joined the Russian Orthodox Church.
2019 - Orthodox parishes in Jamaica voted to join the Moscow Patriarchate.
2020 - the main temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ - was consecrated. In honor of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, as well as the military feats of the Russian people. The image of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the central dome of the temple is the largest image of the face of Christ made in mosaic.

Prince Vladimir baptized Rus' in 988. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Holy place

For the first time in the last 100 years, the main Orthodox shrines began to be brought to our country. To touch them, people were ready to wait several days in multimillion-dollar queues.

2003. Relics of St. Andrew the First-Called.
2004. Relics of the Grand Duchess, Holy Martyr Elizabeth Feodorovna and nun Varvara.
2006. John the Baptist was brought . Over 40 days, more than 2 million believers worshiped the shrine.
2007. Chapter of the Holy Apostle, Evangelist Luke.
2011. Part of the Virgin's belt was transported to 14 cities. In 39 days, more than 3 million people came to the belt of the Virgin Mary; in Moscow, one could stand in line for more than a day.

The Russian Orthodox Church has a Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints. Over the course of 30 years, she canonized many miracle workers, righteous people and martyrs. Among them, the most famous and revered are Tsar Nicholas II and his family, Matrona of Moscow and warrior Feodor Ushakov.

2013. The cross on which Saint Andrew the First-Called was crucified.
2015. The delegation of the Greek Orthodox Church brought the relics of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica to Russia. On the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, an ark containing the right hand of the Great Martyr George the Victorious . During the stay of the relics in Russia, almost 1 million people bowed to them.
2016. Bringing the relics of St. Silouan of Athos.
2017. The relics of St. Nicholas were brought from Bari, Italy .

Foreign press

The British newspaper The Guardian presents the elected patriarch as an intellectual who intends to modernize the Russian Orthodox Church. The publication believes that Kirill will contribute to the reconciliation of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and will also become a mediator in relations between the two main church factions - “anti-Western conservatives and more progressive socially oriented figures.”

The Financial Times recalls that Metropolitan Kirill criticized the activities of human rights activists, arguing that they are trying to legalize immoral actions. In his opinion, the concept of human rights includes ideas that are contrary to Christian and traditional moral values.

The London Times views Kirill as a controversial figure. The newspaper notes that about the new patriarch, like about his predecessor, there are rumors that in Soviet times he was a KGB agent under the code name Mikhailov. Kirill is also remembered for the nickname “tobacco metropolitan”, which he received in the mid-1990s in connection with his alleged involvement in the duty-free trade of imported cigarettes with the aim of directing the proceeds to charitable needs. At the same time, the newspaper cites the opinion of unnamed observers who believe that the new patriarch could strengthen the independence of the church from the state and thereby displease the Kremlin.

On the other hand, the American newspaper The Los Angeles Times believes that in the context of a deepening economic crisis, the relationship between the church and the government will become increasingly stronger as social instability grows. It is noted that the church and the political elite of Russia need each other: the first to revive the status lost during the Soviet years, and the second to receive public support in the eyes of society from spiritual leaders.

We are special

According to statistics, in Russia 80 percent of citizens call themselves Orthodox. And only about five percent observe fasts and constantly go to church. But this is not surprising: Russians associate themselves with Orthodoxy not only in religious, but also in cultural and historical senses. Over a thousand years, Eastern Christianity has created a special civilization in Russia. That is why we are the largest and greatest country on the planet! Orthodoxy has always been and is one of the most powerful signs of Russian identity.

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior is the main shrine of the country. Photo: Legion-media.ru

Think about it!

The number of churches in the United States is ten times greater than the number of churches in Russia. There are 270 thousand of them there. There are 15 thousand Mormons alone.

By the way

There are about 40 thousand churches in the Russian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Of these, only 44 percent (17 thousand) are in Russia, and the rest are in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova and about 100 other countries, including Japan, China and Ethiopia.
For 33 million people living in Russian large cities, there are only 2,756 operating churches. Throughout Ukraine, with approximately the same population - 13 thousand. That is, the majority of Russian churches are located not in large, but in small cities and villages.

Vitaly Kim
#26/2020 faith Russian Orthodox Church

Blogosphere

In RuNet, the attitude towards the election of the patriarch was mainly neutral-skeptical, with the exception of a few Orthodox activists. For example, blogger urij_k from Krasnoyarsk asks: “What does the election of a metropolitan entail? Do different metropolitans have different platforms, different programs? How was one candidate different from the other? The answer may be the opinion of the Samara blogger andrey_perla: “Even if he (the new patriarch - Lenta.ru note) is an extremist, even a libertarian, even a socialist, even a prayer book, even a manager of unprecedented merits, it is not in his power to change the place of the church in Russian society . Not even to indicate the direction of such changes.”

An active media campaign to highlight an internal church event in a secular multi-religious state caused an understandable reaction of rejection among many of its citizens. Mostly secular readers of the popular tabloid “Moskovsky Komsomolets” would prefer to see not Kirill or Clement as the patriarch, but some “third person”. A similar protest vote was observed in the online referendum, where the Japanese Orthodox Bishop Daniel competed strongly with the official candidates.

This latest media campaign by the church and the state obviously did not increase the popularity of either institution, just like the constantly broadcast live all-night vigils of the country’s leaders. And this only confirms the old thesis that “what is Caesar’s is to Caesar, and what is God’s to God.”

Meeting with the Pope

In 2021, a historic meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis XVI took place in Cuba.

The heads of churches signed a joint declaration. It says that both mourn the loss of church unity. Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis expressed hope that their meeting will inspire Christians around the world to pray for complete unity of the churches.

Kirill. Results. How the Church has changed during ten years of Patriarchate

10 years ago, on February 1, 2009, Patriarch Kirill headed the Russian Orthodox Church. “Interlocutor”, together with experts, figured out what the Russian Orthodox Church has become during this time.

The church has become a corporation

Today, religion brings in income comparable to oil and gas.

The secrets of the church economy were revealed only once by Archbishop Clement: 5% of the patriarchate’s budget are diocesan contributions, 40% are donations, 55% are income from commercial enterprises of the Russian Orthodox Church. In addition, the church has acquired expensive property - according to Kirill himself, about 1,340 new churches and monasteries are added every year. The church also receives a lot from government generosity - from 1 to 3 billion rubles a year under various federal programs such as “Culture of Russia”, “Strengthening the unity of the Russian nation”, etc.

– The Church is developing and flourishing under Patriarch Kirill – that’s a fact. He learned to receive money from the budget and various state funds. This, of course, benefits the church itself. But another thing is what kind of sediment from all this remains in people’s souls and how it can turn out,” Andrei Kuraev, protodeacon of the Russian Orthodox Church, professor at the Moscow Theological Academy, commented to Sobesednik. – The main church change under Kirill can be expressed in one word – secularization, or worldliness. On the one hand, this is a natural consequence of the fact that monks go into the world, that is, they become worldly. This can be necessary and useful - missionary work, for example. But there is another side - this is the infection of church life itself with interests, intrigues, problems borrowed from worldly life.

Priests entered public life

Churches are already consecrating not only marriages, but also cars and roads. The clergy came to schools and universities. Orthodox activists have reached exhibitions and premieres, which they judge not from the point of view of art, but according to their compliance with religious canons. It even comes to criminal prosecution, as in the story with Pussy Riot. In some regions, champions of the faith are also looking at our pockets.

- This is felt by the same officials or serious businessmen who are under pressure - give, give, give - or students who are driven to religious processions or sermons, or military personnel who are forced to devote themselves to the construction of some crazy military temple in the Moscow region, – lists Kuraev. “Over time, all this can have an impact - people who are being bent in this way can turn away from the church, say: “That’s enough!”, and when the political climate in the country changes, this can have a painful impact on the successors of Patriarch Kirill and on ordinary priests.

– Intervention of the Russian Orthodox Church in public life is possible only until the minute it is allowed to do so. Any change of course - and the entire Russian Orthodox Church will again disperse to its dugouts and guardhouses,” publicist Alexander Nevzorov expressed confidence in a conversation with Sobesednik.

The Russian Orthodox Church strengthened its alliance with the authorities

Formally, secular and religious authorities are separated in our country. In fact, everyone understands that they are together and at the same time. Kirill has state security from the FSO. Three of the four patriarchal residences were provided by the authorities, and this is real estate of fabulous value in Chisty Lane, Danilov Monastery and Peredelkino. On business trips, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church flies on one of the presidential planes, serving his flight squad No. 1.

– Kirill’s reign is characterized by active intervention in politics, participation in all the Kremlin’s propaganda campaigns, and so on. An extreme manifestation of this is the case when one of the bishops said that the Mother of God appeared to him three times and urged him to vote for Yanukovych, says Andrei Kuraev.

The Patriarch is considered “Medvedev’s man.” Perhaps because Svetlana Medvedeva patronizes many common themes with the Russian Orthodox Church - from the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation to the Feast of Peter and Fevronya. Putin is believed to be closer to “his confessor” Tikhon Shevkunov, who is a rather independent figure in the Russian Orthodox Church, and some perceive him as a direct rival of Kirill.

“Kirill had several periods of rapprochement with Putin, then with Medvedev, it’s like ping-pong,” shares Nevzorov. – The apotheosis was the story of Ukraine, with which the discord occurred first politically, and then religiously. It was necessary to manage to lose her. The patriarch lives in an atmosphere of absolute adulation. It is clear that in this situation a person really begins to believe that he is a great scientist, an academician. And such a gilded figure can no longer cope with all the challenges that modernity has offered to the Russian Orthodox Church.

– This is what the Bible describes as the wisest decision of King Solomon. There two women were arguing about whose child it was, and Solomon said: so as not to offend anyone, cut the baby in half. One woman agreed, and the second said: no, take it, just don’t chop it. And Solomon immediately realized who the real mother was. And the Patriarch decided to cut down Ukraine - not to give it up, not to give it up. This is a character trait,” adds Andrey Kuraev.

The priests reached for luxury

The rich residences of the Patriarch, his yacht “Pallada” for 4 million dollars, a fleet of 5 luxury armored cars of the presidential level, a Breguet watch for 30 thousand euros cause a lot of controversy in society: are serving God and wealth compatible?

“Kirill has traits that at first it seemed that he would get rid of them, but that didn’t happen,” notes Andrey Kuraev. – Oddly enough, the long-term head of the diplomatic department of our church does not know how to negotiate, does not know how to concede. This was first clearly manifested in the scandal with Pussy Riot, then in the scandal with nanodust in his luxurious apartment on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment, with which he actually tried to force his neighbor to sell him an apartment at a cheap price. Moreover, the Patriarch demanded compensation from the neighbor, which, when converted into American currency, amounted to exactly 666 thousand dollars.

– Church ministers are already openly saying that they need luxury so that everyone feels the greatness of the organization they represent. The most noisy and famous priests - the Chaplins and Smirnovs - never hid this. They realized that it was stupid to hide behind the outdated ideas of Israeli pastoralists, but they should honestly say: “Damn, give me a jeep, give me a Land Cruiser!” says Alexander Nevzorov.

“Blue” scandals have become more frequent

It’s an inconvenient and awkward topic, but even the clergy themselves can no longer hush it up.

“This all happened before,” says Kuraev. “But today they have begun to actively defend it.” One thing is a sin, and another is a shameless sin, that is, when priests who committed such “pranks” came to power, rising through the church hierarchy. A lobby is a lobby - their own help their own, the rest are silent. This happened before, but now it has become clear that the Patriarch will not hand them over. That is, it gave them more courage.

“The Church is a closed system in which external laws do not apply,” explains Alexander Nevzorov. – Everyone, including the Patriarch, knows about “this”. As one remarkable report says: “He may not have written, but he read.”

Reference

ROC today:

303 dioceses
462 monasteries
482 convents
36,000 temples
40,000 full-time priests

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The material was published in the Sobesednik publication No. 03-2019 under the title “Kirill. Results."