Contents tagged with Patriarch Kirill

  • Patriarchs argue in Istanbul over independence of Ukrainian Church

    In a meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church did not agree that the Ukrainian Church is outside Moscow’s jurisdiction, and is convinced that the leaders of Ukraine need the church’s autocephaly in order to remain in power. The Greek news outlet Orthodoxia.info published fragments of the meeting’s minutes.

    Bartholomew, on the other hand, considers Ukraine outside Moscow’s jurisdiction.

    “We have never stopped being aware that we …

  • Bulgarian deputy prime minister calls Russian Patriarch 'KGB agent'

    Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov called Russian Patriarch Kirill of Moscow a “KGB agent” and “Russia’s cigarette metropolitan”, Radio Liberty writes.

    “He is not an orthodox cleric. He is agent Mikhailov, a second-rate Soviet KGB agent,” the Deputy Prime Minister remarked.

    According to Simeonov, the Russian patriarch has imported $14 billion worth of cigarettes into Russia since 1996.

    This was Simeonov’s response to Kirill’s statements that he was disappointed with the …

  • Carnegie Center: Putin and Russian Patriarch at odds over Ukraine

    Disagreements have emerged between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kirill of Moscow, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), following the start of the conflict  in eastern Ukraine. This was noted by Andrey Pertsev, researcher from the Carnegie Moscow Center, as reported by Voice of America.

    “It has long been known that the president and the patriarch’s relations became strained after the start of the Ukrainian crisis and the conflict in the Donbas,” the researcher observes. …

  • Patriarch Kirill: Russia's Actions in Syria are in Defense of the Homeland

    The Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill has expressed his support of the Kremlin’s actions in Syria. The Patriarch said that Syria is a neighbour of Russia and stated that Russian military action in Syria is in defense of the Fatherland. In his interview with TV channel, Russia-1, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed that if the terrorists in Syria are victorious, it would result in misfortune and evil for Russia. Kirill explained that the war in Syria is defensive and …