Cyril I.

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Patriarch Kyrill of Moscow and all of Russia

Kyrill I. (real name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundjajew , Russian Владимир Михайлович Гундяев ; born November 20, 1946 in Leningrad , today Saint Petersburg) is a Russian clergyman. Since February 1, 2009 he has been the Patriarch of Moscow and the whole of Russia and thus the head of the Russian Orthodox Church . Previously he was Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Dioceses of Smolensk and Kaliningrad .

Life

Gundjajew grew up in a Leningrad priestly family. His father Michail, born in 1907, came from a Mordovian priestly family from the region around Nizhny Novgorod , had to spend three years in the Kolyma gulag after studying theology from 1934 and was ordained a priest and deacon in 1947. His mother Raissa, born in 1909, b. Kutschina, was a German teacher.

Gundjajev's older brother Nikolai, born in 1940, entered the Leningrad Seminary in 1965 and later studied at the Leningrad Spiritual Academy .

Kyrill I was an active officer in the Soviet secret service KGB .

Early ministry

After his ordination in 1969 and graduation in 1970, he first became secretary to Metropolitan Nikodim of Leningrad , who had already promoted the ecumenical opening of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1960s (died in 1978 at a meeting with Pope John Paul I ) . In 1971 Cyril was raised to the rank of Archimandrite and appointed official representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the World Council of Churches . Since then he has been actively involved in the ecumenical activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and its main designer. This also includes his participation in the Christian Peace Conference (CFK), in whose “Committee for Continuation of Work” (AFA) he was elected at the IV All-Christian Peace Assembly in 1971 in Prague . From late 1974 to late 1984, Kyrill was rector of the Leningrad Seminary and the Theological Academy.

Bishop, Archbishop, Metropolitan

In March 1976 he was elected Bishop of Vyborg in the Diocese of Leningrad and consecrated eleven days later. Before the war of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan (1979-1989) he was one of the few in a prominent position who publicly spoke out against the invasion in 1979.

On December 26, 1984 he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Smolensk and Administrator of the Diocese of Kaliningrad . In 1988 he became archbishop , in 1991 metropolitan . Since November 1989 he has also been chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate (the foreign office of the Russian Orthodox Church) and thus a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church . As a member of the Biblical and Theological Commission of the Moscow Patriarchate, Kyrill participated in the preparations for the Moscow Council in 2000.

On May 18, 2006, Kyrill inaugurated the first Russian Orthodox church in Rome as the head of the Foreign Office of the Russian Orthodox Church, and in October 2008 the first Russian Orthodox church in Cuba , the Cathedral “ Nuestra Señora de Kazán ” in Havana .

On April 25, 2007, Kyrill was one of the celebrants at the funeral service for the late Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow (alongside Metropolitan Juwenali from Krutizy and Kolomna and Metropolitan Kliment from Kaluga and Borowsk ) .

Kyrill was also one of the main authors involved in the elaboration of the social doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church (“Basics of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church”), which was adopted in August 2000. He supported Patriarch Alexius II as his deputy in the direction of the World Council of the Russian People and from 2006 headed the working group for the development of the basic teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church on dignity, freedom and human rights, which was decided in July 2008.

On the first channel of the Russian state television, a "pastoral word" by Kyrill is broadcast weekly.

Election to the patriarch

The summer residence of the Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church in Peredelkino near Moscow

After the death of Patriarch Alexius II , Metropolitan Kyrill became the governor (" locum tenens ") of the patriarchal office of the Russian Orthodox in a secret vote in the summer residence of the patriarchs in Peredelkino near Moscow on December 6, 2008 by the seven permanent members of the Holy Synod Church elected. The Pomestny Sobor , the highest council of the Russian Orthodox Church, in which representatives of all eparchies took part, elected him on January 27, 2009 in the first ballot with 508 of 702 votes cast as the 16th Patriarch in the history of Russian Orthodoxy. On February 1, 2009, he was enthroned in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior .

Course of patriarchy

In November 2011 the patriarch traveled to Damascus . There he met Ignatius IV , the Patriarch of the Antiochene Orthodox Church , and urged the inhabitants of Syria to " peacefully overcome the contradictions ". Ignatius thanked the Patriarch and all the citizens of Russia for their compassion and support.

In August 2012, Kyrill was the first Russian Orthodox head of the church to visit Poland. During his four-day trip, he signed a "common message to the peoples of Russia and Poland" with Archbishop Józef Michalik , chairman of the Polish Catholic Bishops' Conference, in the course of a solemn ceremony in the Royal Castle in Warsaw . The religious document aims to reconcile the Orthodox and Catholic Churches in the two countries.

In February 2016, Cyril I became the first patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church to meet a pope. The meeting took place in Cuba during a trip abroad with Pope Francis .

Positions

Position on the Catholic Church and other religions

Cyril is generally considered to be moderately conservative and open to further dialogue with other churches. On the question of canonical territory (the Orthodox churches traditionally claim the entire territory of a state as canonical territory) Metropolitan Kyrill takes the view that, due to the mutual recognition of the Christian Eastern and Western Churches as sister churches, there is only one bishop in each place representing the entire Christian community Church should be.

As head of the foreign office of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kyrill maintained good contacts with the Roman Catholic Church and met three times with Pope Benedict XVI. together. In April 2005 he congratulated Benedict XVI in the Vatican . After his election as Pope and in the course of his visit to Rome on the occasion of the inauguration of the Russian Orthodox Church, another meeting took place in May 2006. In December 2007, the Pope finally received him for a private audience .

Opponents of ecumenism within the Russian Orthodox Church accuse him of being too close to the Catholic Church. He was criticized for becoming Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. to have kissed the hand after his papal election. Bishop Diomid of Anadyr and Chukotka accused him of “communion” with the Roman Catholic Church in 2008. Most recently, Kyrill increasingly distanced himself from the Catholic Church and ecumenism . Shortly before his election as patriarch, he ruled out compromises with other Christian denominations on matters of faith as well as common prayer.

Again Cyril I advocates the creation of “special relationships” between Orthodoxy and the other three “traditional religions” of Russia, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism.

Position on freedom rights and emancipation

In his address to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 18, 2008, Kyrill I criticized the fact that there is no clause in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights to restrict the rights and freedoms assured therein in order to meet the “just requirements of morality”. The in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights knew such a clause even (Art. 29 para. 2).

Kyrill is a determined advocate of sticking to the traditional family model . In April 2013, he sharply criticized feminism in a statement, describing it as a “dangerous phenomenon” that merely offers women an illusion of freedom. The role of women is always concentrated inwards, with the household and the children. The destruction of the family, however, inevitably follows the destruction of the homeland. In a sermon in July 2013, Kyrill declared the legalization of gay marriages to be a sign of the impending end of the world and called for everything to be done so that in "Holy Russia" the law never supports sin, which would be a process of self-destruction.

The Antichrist would then be at the forefront of the Internet , he concluded when he spoke of a hypothetical central control of the network.

Position on politics in Russia

Metropolitan Kyrill at the awarding of the Order of
Merit for the Fatherland 2nd class by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 21, 2006 in Moscow

Cyril is considered an ally of Vladimir Putin . In the course of the presidential election in Russia in 2012 , he described Putin's reign as a “miracle of God” and criticized the opposition. In addition, Kyrill openly called for Putin's election.

On his 10th anniversary in office, Republic.ru wrote: "In recent years the patriarch has worked more as a politician than a shepherd". At the same time, according to a study from 2014, his moral authority was at a low of one percent, on a par with Ramzan Kadyrov or, therefore, behind Vladimir Zhirinovsky .

Criticism for luxury

In 2012, a watch was touched off the Patriarch's wrist , but could be seen in the reflection on the table. According to journalists from 2009, Kyrill owns a luxury watch from the Breguet brand , which the latter does not deny. A "health residence" of the Orthodox Church is called "Kyrill's Datscha" by the locals. A representative property near Gelendzhik is officially referred to as an "educational center", but Novaya Gazeta pointed out that apart from a single synod in 2012 there were no reports of course activities. The newspaper wrote that a new kind of atheism was due to the ostentatious luxury, the palaces and media scandals and thus the decline in the reputation of the Russian Orthodox Church. Even Julia Latynina commented on the numerous residences of the Patriarch and described as suffering in this country hospitals lack of money and queues are common, while churches renovated and would be built, which stood empty.

Honors

literature

  • Barbara Hallensleben, Guido Vergauwen and Klaus Wyrwoll (eds.): Kyrill, Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia. Freedom and responsibility in harmony. Evidence for the departure to a new world community . Translated from Russian by Xenia Werner (= Epiphania 1), Friborg Switzerland 2009; ISBN 978-2-9700643-0-5 .
  • “Kyrill leads the Russian Orthodox Church.” Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 22 of January 28, 2009, p. 7.
  • Tagesschau.de: “ Kirill elected as the new patriarch. (tagesschau.de archive) ”from January 27, 2009.
  • Kerstin Holm: The ideologue: Moscow's Patriarch Kyrill I wants to bring up the new Russian Orthodox people. in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, June 6, 2010, page 10

Web links

Commons : Kyrill I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Patriarch Kirill blesses a memorial stone for his grandfather Vasilij Stefanovitch Gundjajew in Usa-Stepanowka 6/4/2016
  2. Biography: Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on the Official Website of the Foreign Office of the Russian Orthodox Church.
  3. Page no longer available , search in web archives: David Satter: Putin Runs The Russian State - And The Russian Church Too, 2/20/2009@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.forbes.com
  4. USSR shouldn't have invaded Afghanistan - Patriarch Kirill
  5. ^ Social doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church. German translation of the document
  6. ^ The Atheist West in the Light of Orthodoxy
  7. ^ Human Rights and Moral Responsibility. Paper read by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, at the X World Russian People's Council
  8. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia (Engl. Biography on the pages of the Moscow Patriarchate)
  9. The Basics of the Doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church on Dignity, Freedom and Human Rights ( English )
  10. Moscow Patriarch Kyrill in Syria: Call for a peaceful settlement of internal feuds RIA Novosti on November 13, 2011.
  11. Moscow Patriarch Kirill I visits Poland for the first time at n24.de, August 16, 2012 (accessed on August 17, 2012).
  12. Church: Two churches approach each other at dw.de, August 17, 2012 (accessed on August 18, 2012).
  13. Süddeutsche.de: Pope Franziskus and Patriarch Kyrill: Two shepherds at eye level , February 12, 2016 (accessed on February 12, 2016)
  14. Katholisch.de: Great Risk for Francis , February 12, 2016 (accessed on February 12, 2016)
  15. Vatican Radio: Breakthrough, The Pope Meets Kyrill ( Memento of February 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), February 12, 2016 (accessed on February 12, 2016)
  16. a b Archived copy ( Memento from February 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  17. Archived copy ( Memento from December 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  18. orthodoxytoday.org: The Orthodox Church, State and Europe: A View from Russia
  19. The address of Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate DECR on the panel discussion on Human Rights and Intercultural Dialogue at the 7th session of UN Human Rights Council ( German translation )
  20. Russian Patriarch Kirill: Women should focus on family and children. In: German Russian News . April 10, 2013, archived from the original on November 12, 2013 ; Retrieved November 12, 2013 .
  21. Russia's Orthodox Patriarch Kirill says feminism is very dangerous. In: Reuters FaithWorld blog. April 12, 2013, accessed November 12, 2013 .
  22. ↑ Gay marriages: Russian patriarch sees the end of the world approaching. In: German Russian News . July 23, 2013, archived from the original on November 12, 2013 ; Retrieved November 12, 2013 . - Same-Sex Marriage Apocalyptic, Patriarch Says. In: The Moscow Times . July 22, 2013, accessed November 12, 2013 .
  23. Patriarch: Smartphones prepare the way for the Antichrist
  24. Putin and Kyrill: Dangerous Friends on zeit.de, accessed on July 24, 2016
  25. Russian patriarch calls Putin era "miracle of God" on af.reuters.com, accessed on July 24, 2016
  26. Russia: Kirill's passion for Putin on fr-online.de, accessed on July 24, 2016
  27. Political Patriarch - What Kirill Achieved and Didn't Achieve in Ten Years , Republic.ru, January 31, 2019
  28. Photoshop glitch exposed Russian patriarch , April 7, 2012
  29. danger from the west ; Novaya Gazeta, August 6, 2012
  30. The Patriarch and His Entourage , Novaya Gazeta, May 25, 2019
  31. Access code , Echo Moscow, May 25, 2019; "According to the number of residences, Patriarch Kirill wants to catch up with the famous biblical character King Herod"
  32. Like the Church, like its martyrs , Novaya Gazeta, May 16, 2019
  33. ISO Friborg: "The Silver Rose of St. Nicholas"
  34. ISO Friborg
  35. ^ Eastern Church Institute Regensburg: "Silver Rose of St. Nicholas in 2006 for Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk "
  36. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 19, 2016 N 610 "On the award of the Patriarch of Moscow and the whole of Rus Kyrill (WM Gundjajews) with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland 1st Class" (Russian)
predecessor Office successor
Alexius II Patriarch of Moscow
since 2009
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