Kirill I of Moscow
| Kirill | |
|---|---|
| Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' | |
Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'
|
|
| Church | Russian Orthodox Church |
| See | Moscow |
| Installed | 1 February 2009 |
| Term ended | Incumbent |
| Predecessor | Alexy II |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 7 April 1969 |
| Consecration | 14 March 1976 by Nikodim (Rotov) |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev |
| Born |
20 November 1946 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Signature |  |
| Coat of arms |  |
Kirill or Cyril (Russian: Кирилл, secular name Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev, Russian: Владимир Михайлович Гундяев; born 20 November 1946) is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009.
Prior to becoming Patriarch, Kirill was Archbishop (later Metropolitan) of Smolensk and Kaliningrad beginning on 26 December 1984, and also Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations and a permanent member of the Holy Synod beginning in 1989.
In cultural and social affairs the Church under Kirill has collaborated closely with the Russian state under President Vladimir Putin. Patriarch Kirill has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
Kirill was born Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev in Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) on 20 November 1946. His father, Rev. Mikhail Gundyaev, died in 1974. His mother, Raisa Gundyaeva, a teacher of German, died in 1984. His elder brother, Archpriest Nikolay Gundyaev, is a professor at Leningrad Theological Academy and rector of the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg. His grandfather, Rev. Vasily Gundyaev, a Solovki prisoner, was imprisoned and exiled in the '20s, '30s and '40s for his church activity and struggle against Renovationism.
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