The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, worked for Soviet intelligence while living in Switzerland in the 1970s, Swiss newspapers reported, citing declassified archives.
The Swiss police file on the man who today serves as the spiritual head of the Russian Orthodox Church “confirms that ‘Monsignor Kirill,’ as he is referred to in this document, worked for the KGB,” the Sonntagszeitung and Le Matin Dimanche weeklies reported.
The two papers said they had gained access to the file in the Swiss national archives.
Photo: AP / The State Duma
Kirill, who today is a fervent supporter of Putin’s war in Ukraine, lived in Geneva in the early 1970s, officially as a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the World Council of Churches (WCC).
‘NOT AN AGENT’
Under the code name “Mikhailov,” Kirill’s mission was to influence the council, already infiltrated by the KGB, the papers said.
The Russian Orthodox Church has refused to comment on Kirill’s spying activity in Geneva, while the WCC had maintained it had no information about the case, they said.
However, the archives showed the Soviet objective was to push the institution to denounce the US and its allies, and to tone down its criticism of the lack of religious freedoms in the Soviet Union, they said.
The patriarch’s nephew Mikhail Gundyaev, who represents the Russian church at the WCC in Geneva, told Le Matin Dimanche that his uncle “was not an agent, although he was subjected to ‘strict controls’ by the KGB.”
And this “did not affect the sincerity of his engagement in ecumenical work with other churches,” Gundyaev said, adding that his uncle had had a special appreciation for Switzerland.
SWISS FAN
Kirill has visited the wealthy, Alpine nation at least 43 times, the paper reported.
He was, among other things, passionate about skiing, even reportedly breaking a leg on the Swiss slopes in 2007.
“Between religious diplomacy, espionage and finances, Kirill has continuously been drawn to the Alps and the shores of Lake Geneva,” Le Matin Dimanche said.
“I have special feelings for your country,” the patriarch said in 2019 upon receiving the president of the upper house of the Swiss parliament.
“Of all the countries in the world, it is possibly the one I have visited the most often,” he said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number