Metropolitan Kirill being given the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, Class II, by (then) President Vladimir Putin, December 21, 2006.
According to the Times, Metropolitan Kirill, currently the interim head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is the favourite to succeed the late Patriarch Alexei II. Kirill is said to be a "conservative" candidate for the post, being both a patriotic Russian and a staunch defender of the faith of the Russian Church, suggesting that we may expect no change of Patriarchal policy in the near future.
Both President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime-Minister Putin were present at the late Patriarch's elaborate funeral, solemnly celebrated in the rebuilt cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demonstrating the Russian political establisment's growing self-identification with the Orthodox Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment