Church or Security Service?

It is the byproduct of that preternatural, militant, theocratic inclination that has disfigured the Moscow Patriarchate from its legitimate role in being an instrument of God and transformed it into a quasi-state political and intelligence apparatus that so often acts contrary to the teachings of Christ and the Orthodox Church.  Proof of this is manifest in the record of the Russian Orthodox Church’s involvement in Russia’s drive to create a new empire spanning post-Soviet space. 

That quest has often pitted the Moscow Patriarchate against the Gospels such as when Patriarch Kirill issued a decree during a March 2024 congress of the World Russian People’s Council declaring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “Holy War.”  That declaration of a ‘Holy War’ now seems oddly incongruent with the earlier Russian assertion that it was acting to liberate the Ukrainian people from a fascist regime in Kyiv.  As we see now, any “liberation” by the Russian State has always occurred in tandem with the subjugation of local churches to the Russian Orthodox Church or abolition of churches altogether.[1]

The declaration of ‘Holy War’ left the Christian World and humanity aghast.  To the contrary, other religious leaders have roundly denounced Russia’s war on Ukraine for being both a violation of the precepts of international law and an offense against humanity and civilisation. 

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholemew I called the invasion:

“… damaging to the prestige of the whole of Orthodoxy.”[2]

Later, in 2025, the Ecumenical Patriarch again addressed the issue of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with the full-throated support of the Russian Orthodox Church:

“No nation has the right to force its will upon another, and no power can erase a people’s history…. No force can extinguish the spirit of the people who refuse to be broken.  Ukraine’s sovereignty is not up for debate, nor can it be negotiated under the guise of diplomacy.”[3]

The Holy See has also been vocal about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  During an Angelus address to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis stated:

“Tomorrow marks the third anniversary of the full-scale war against Ukraine: a painful and shameful occasion for all of humanity….  I renew my solidarity with the martyred Ukrainian people.”[4]

Patriarch Daniel of Romania, Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria, and Archbishop Leo of Helsinki and All Finland, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and countless Protestant clergy joined in the condemnation of Russia’s war on Ukraine. 

Lest it be misunderstood that this is a mere phenomenon of what Putin calls “… a depraved Western world,” some of the most vociferous condemnations emanated from within Russia itself. 

Rabbi Berel Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Russia, condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine by calling on the Kremlin withdraw and end to the war.  The Chief Rabbi of Moscow, Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, fled from Russia after refusing a demand from the Kremlin to publicly declare his and Judaism’s support the invasion.  Evangelical Pastor Yevgeniy Peresvetov, who was once approached to act as a FSB spy in 2010, was eventually charged with sedition and banned from Russia for 25-years for his opposition to the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ministering to Evangelical Christians in Crimea.

There is no universal concept of holy war in Orthodox theology, especially when wielded against fellow Orthodox Christians.  The Russian Orthodox Church’s position is unique within Orthodox Christianity as well as the broader Christian community.  It is difficult to comprehend then how Kirill, an Orthodox Patriarch, could be acting legitimately in his capacity as a Christian bishop by blessing religious violence in the pursuit of territorial acquisition of a neighbouring Orthodox Christian country. 

…Since then, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Moscow Patriarchate has become a major player in several industries including enjoying controlling interest in the oil exporter MES, a chain of hotels and casinos, jewelry stores, publishing houses and manufacturing facilities that produce goods ranging from furniture to religious icons.  While Russia’s economic woes slip from bad-to-worse under international sanctions the Russian Orthodox Church under Patriarch Kirill has emerged as Orthodox Christianity’s wealthiest Church.[5]

Possibly by the preferential tax treatment of the Russian State, by shrewd business dealings or possibly the intercession of Saint Seraphim of Sarov “the patron saint of nuclear weapons,”[6]Patriarch Kirill himself has enjoyed the peculiar advantages of commerce and favouritism by the Russian State.  On 3 July 2009, Patriarch Kirill appeared in a photograph with Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov.  The photograph was discovered only too late to have captured an image of his $30,000 luxury Breguet watch.[7]  At the time, the average annual income in Russia was only $7,046 making his watch almost four-times the annul Russian’s annual wages.[8]  The scandal arose in 2012 after Russian bloggers spotted the watch in the original photograph and compared it to an image on the Moscow Patriarchate website in which the watch had been digitally removed.  The problem was that they failed to remove the reflection of the watch Patriarch Kirill was wearing from the highly polished table which clearly identified it by make and model.  In an attempt to quell outrage by an impoverished Russian nation, the Moscow Patriarchate removed the images from their site altogether.  They survive in the viral media coverage the scandal gave rise to despite attempts by Patriarch Kirill to hide it from public view.

A mere watch, however, wasn’t the only indication of how a “slave of God” has enriched himself personally while the Russian people teeter between poverty and desperation:

“In December 2019, Novaya Gazeta drew attention to previous media reports about Patriarch Kirill’s involvement in automotive, oil, jewelry, and fishing businesses. The newspaper cited unconfirmed reports claiming that the patriarch’s estimated net worth is $4–8 billion, underscoring that these figures can’t be verified since Kirill keeps his savings in banks in Switzerland, Italy, and Austria.”[9]

The Patriarch’s penchant for eschewing poverty has continued to catch the attention of investigative reporters:

“According to the investigative report, Patriarch Kirill owns three apartments under his secular name, Vladimir Gundyaev:

• A 145-square-meter (1,560-square-foot) apartment in the House on the Embankment on Serafimovich Street in Moscow — with an estimated value 70 million rubles (about $893,000), according to Proekt. 
• A 38-square-meter (409-square-foot) apartment on Nikoloyamskaya Street in Moscow valued at 12 million rubles (about $152,000).
• And an 83-square-meter (893-square-foot) apartment on Bolsheokhtinsky Avenue in St. Petersburg valued at 9 million rubles (about $114,000). 

Meanwhile, the patriarch’s second cousin, 73-year-old Lidia Leonova, owns four pieces of real estate, Proekt reports: 

• An 83-square-meter (893-square-foot) apartment on Gagarinsky Pereulok in Moscow with an estimated valued of 47 million rubles (about $597,000).
• A 300-square-meter (3,229-square-foot) house in the “Zelenaya Roshcha-1” village located in the Moscow Region’s Odintsovsky District valued at 10 million rubles (about $127,000).
• A 121-square meter (1,302-square-foot) apartment on the Kryukov Canal Embankment in St. Petersburg valued at 42 million rubles (more than $533,000).
• A third of the non-residential space (200 square meters or 2,152 square feet) in the same building on the Kryukov Canal Embankment in St. Petersburg, which is valued at 3 million rubles (about $38,000)….

Lidia Leonova became the owner of the apartment on the Kryukov Canal Embankment in St. Petersburg in 2001 — this piece of real estate was gifted to her by an old friend of Patriarch Kirill, businessman Alexander Dmitrievich. 

Proekt notes that this took place six months after the Moscow Mayor’s Office withdrew its claims against Dmitrievich’s business partner, Italian national Nicola Savoretti, who also claims to have known Patriarch Kirill for a long time. Savoretti told Proekt that the patriarch wasn’t involved in settling the dispute with the mayor’s office, adding that Dmitrievich wasn’t associated with his projects.”[10]

The debate over the nature of the Russian Orthodox Church will not be quelled by this manuscript.  We hope this work does, however, inform that debate:

Is the Russian Orthodox Church an organ of the Russian State intelligence service? 

Is the Russian Orthodox Church a cooperator in war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine?

Is the Russian Orthodox Church a department of the Kremlin’s propaganda machine? 

Is the Russian Orthodox Church a corporation built on profiteering? 

Or is possible, just possible, the Russian Orthodox Church is simply a Church that has lost its way, albeit in ways offensive to Christian values?  There is much to consider.

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[1] Kyriaki Topidi, “Religious Belief as an Existential Threat: How Russia Victimizes Religious Minorities in Russia and in the Occupied Territories of Ukraine; Series on Transnational Christian Nationalism, and its impact on politics, the rule of law, and religious freedom”, Canopy Forum on the Interaction of Law and Religion, 2 November 2024.
[2] Peter Weber, “Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill’s support for Putin’s Ukraine war has fractured his church”, The Week, 19 April 2022.
[3] Robert Badendieck, “Ecumenical Orthodox patriarch backs Ukraine’s sovereignty in Mass marking 3 years of war”, National Catholic Reporter, 24 February 2025.
[4] Deborah Castellano Lubov, “Pope on Ukraine: ‘Painful and shameful’ anniversary ‘for all humanity’”, Vatican News, 23 February 2025.
[5] Neplii, ibid.
[6] Stephen Kostoff, “The Patron Saint of What?”, Orthodox Church of America: Reflections in Christ, 3 January 2020.
[7] Blake Buettner, “Breguet At Middle Of Russian Patriarch’s Photo Scandal”, Hodinkee, 6 April 2012.
[8] United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, “Gross Average Monthly Wages by Indicator, Country and Year”, United Nations, 2010.
[9] Proekt Staff, “New ‘Proekt’ investigation uncovers millions of dollars in real estate belonging to Patriarch Kirill and his family members”, Meduza, 28 October 2020.
[10] Proekt, ibid.