Russian Patriarch Kirill/ Source: Getty Images
In the 1970s, as the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative to the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Patriarch Kirill, commonly known as Vladimir Gundyayev, or under the code name “Mikhailov,” worked for the Soviet security and intelligence agency KGB, as reported by the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung.
According to the publication, declassified archives indicate that Kirill was an intelligence officer for the KGB. During his time in Geneva, he engaged in espionage. There, his primary objective was to influence the World Council of Churches. Soviet agents swarmed the council at the time.
The Russian Orthodox Church refused to make any media comment regarding this information. Simultaneously, the Russian Embassy in Switzerland referred to the publication as “an example of Russophobia” and denied all charges against Patriarch Kirill.
Notably, Patriarch Kirill supports Russia’s aggressive, full-scale war against Ukraine, in which many civilians have been killed.
Earlier, Patriarch Kirill stated that death in the war against Ukraine is a sacrifice that will purge Russian soldiers of all their sins.
Additionally, Patriarch Kirill urged believers in Russia to pray for dictator Vladimir Putin’s health for several days.
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Tags: Russian intelligence/espionage, Russian Orthodox Church, state-sponsored influence operations
