"Foma": from school to school family. the patriarch’s sister Kirill Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva told “Foma” about her childhood, studies and the main work of her life

Her fate is closely connected with the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. She is one of the first students of the regency branch of the LDA, which was opened in 1978 on the initiative of her sibling- the future Patriarch Kirill. Twenty years ago she founded a diocesan church and theological children's school at the academy, which she heads to this day. He also holds the position of assistant to the rector of the academy for cultural and educational work. Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva told the Foma correspondent about her childhood, studies and the main work of her life.

“We won’t give you our daughter!”

Elena Mikhailovna, during the worst anti-religious years, you, the daughter of a priest, went to an ordinary Soviet school. Were there any difficulties associated with this?

From early childhood, my dad told us: “If you are believers, remain so in everything, and if you give up on anything, that’s it, and in the rest of your life you will seek compromises with your conscience and circumstances.” And we, looking at our father, never hid our faith, we were neither Octobrists nor pioneers. Moreover, our peers respected us very much. But I got it from the teachers, especially my brother. He studied brilliantly, but he was called to the director's office regularly. It was a little easier for me, a girl, behind his back. When we lived in Krasnoe Selo, everything was simpler, the teachers even sympathized with us. Some, seeing how we stood against the atheistic barrage, respected our position and views. I remember how the physics teacher said: “Lena, forgive me, but today I must say that there is no God.” But when we moved to Leningrad in the ninth and tenth grades, the situation was completely different. As soon as I brought the documents to school (the daughter of a priest, not a Komsomol member..), they immediately called my mother. She came, and they told her: “We will fight for your daughter. We won’t give it to you!” Mom, a wise woman, replied: “Try it.” Faith was already so much for us natural state that mom wasn't even worried. Although it was very difficult at this school. Many classmates, seeing how I was constantly under pressure, tried to stay away, so I didn’t really have any friends there.

- What was this pressure?

Yes in everything. You come to the test, and they tell you: “You will take it later.” And then you sit in the evening, without the guys, in the laboratory. And they can give you any grade, regardless of your answer. For example, in social studies she answered - strictly in accordance with the text of the textbook. The teacher read it and asked: “You don’t think so, do you?” I answer: “No, of course.” She insists: “Write then what you think.” But we were already literate in these matters, and I replied that I would not write anything. They gave me a C, although the written answer was completely correct in their coordinate system.

Pioneers

And after school, you became one of the first four students at the newly opened regency department of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. What memories do you have of those years?

It was unusual. After all, we women have always perceived the academy as a man's world. And when we were given the opportunity to study, it could not be called anything other than a miracle. And this opportunity, of course, required a responsible attitude from us.
In addition, no one gave us any discounts at the academy. From the very first days we began to study seriously, mastering the program in its entirety. It is worth remembering that at that time Soviet women and church education were completely non-overlapping concepts! And the four of us were pioneers here...

- It seems incredibly difficult for you...

It was very interesting! I began to receive my church education as a child, from my dad. Then she began working in the library of the theological academy. But I always had the feeling that this was not enough; there was a thirst for real study. And then suddenly it was like a dream came true! Even if it was such a small number, we were enrolled in the academy. By the way, a full-fledged group of female students soon formed.

- How did the boys react to the appearance of girls in their harsh male environment?

They immediately split into two camps: some didn’t like the fact that we showed up, while others, on the contrary, understood how important it was and supported us. After all, a lot depends on professionally trained female regents in parishes. In general, there were no indifferent people. Then, of course, some guys started courting girls. But the Bishop Rector immediately warned everyone: no weddings in the first years! And so it was. Only later did families begin to be created, and it is wonderful that future priests could find wives who were close in spirit within the walls of the academy!

- What level of education did you receive, what did it give you first?

A lot. Firstly, it systematized everything that was learned and studied earlier. Secondly, the perception of the world has changed in some ways: it was interesting to study, it was already a different way of life. And finally, the inner rise was amazing! It seems to me that I would never have had the courage to open a school if I had not had the regency department behind me.

- And you didn’t just open a typical parish school...

Indeed, when in 1990 there was a wave of opening of all kinds of Sunday, parish schools and courses, I decided for myself: if we teach children theology, then teach it seriously. Even the little ones. With the blessing of the late Patriarch Alexy II, who was then our ruling bishop, we formed a church and theological school at the theological academy. Since there were no clear programs yet, only tasks, we took “our own” into the first set - the children of teachers and staff of the academy. But the popularity of the school grew, and people from outside began to come, bringing their children.

-Who is studying with you now?

A wide variety of children - from 6 to 18 years old. There were cases when a child entered school, and over time it turned out that his parents were unbaptized people. One boy, while studying, even brought his mom and dad to Church! Or there was a young man, he studied, although only averagely, graduated from school, got married and suddenly “dragged” the whole family to us: his wife helped us stage for a long time holiday programs. There were many amazing stories. It’s nice that for many today our school determines their way of life. Yes, the demands are high, but the more you demand, the better it turns out. Many children play sports at the same time and study at music schools; we only welcome this.

- You said that children from 6 to 18 years old study at school. But every age needs its own approach...

Of course, we have our own program for each age category. The program for the elementary group (6-10 years old) is close to the one followed in pre-revolutionary families: we tell you how to behave in church, study worship, gospel texts, church fine arts and singing. Kids study for 3-4 years, then move on to the next, intermediate level.
In the middle group, children do what they usually do in Sunday schools. Study the Old and New Testament, an introduction to dogmatic theology, church charter And Church Slavonic language. It is more difficult to study in the middle class: this is our basic education.
The senior group is already more similar to a student group - both in level and in the form of education (instead of lessons - lectures and seminars). The guys work according to adapted seminar programs. Study the history of Russian Orthodox Church, general church history, moral theology, write diploma theses. They recently took moral theology, and I was amazed at how the guys talked about those serious issues (including those outlined in the Fundamentals social concept Church), about which Orthodox Christians must certainly have a certain judgment. It is no coincidence that the subject itself is built on dialogues. The teacher explains how the Church views a particular problem, the children express their opinions, ask questions, and as a result, together they come to a common position. Just by what problems are raised and how they are spoken about in class, it is clear that they are studying in senior group already serious people.

- Who teaches at school?

The senior group is led by seminary students: teacher fine arts- from the icon painting department of the seminary, the Law of God for the younger ones is read by a girl from the regency class, the music class is taught by our graduate, who is now graduating from the conservatory.

- School is discipline, unlearned lessons, bad grades. What about you?

Indeed, this is discipline, exams, tests, compulsory visit, expulsion for poor performance, grades, honors diplomas. The educational process is the same as in a regular school. Everything is very serious.

- Does it happen that your students drop out of school?

If we talk about little ones, it often happens that their parents “leave” school. Imagine, on Saturday, after a week of work, we have to take them to school, and on the second day off we have to take them to our church again. After all, here, in a sense, a feat is required from the parent. So, if parents get tired or start to be lazy, then the children leave. But this doesn't happen often. When parents of children see what wonderful boys and girls we have in the senior group, they try not to miss classes.
Our main problem today is the middle group. Children of this age stop learning, and it is very difficult to recruit new ones. I can't figure out what's wrong. After all, 12-13 years old is the most difficult age. And it needs to live together with the teacher, together with the school. Then they have a natural desire to see their children the same after a while.

- Has the population of parents changed during the existence of the school?

Yes. In the first years, people suffered, and you could really feel it. For them, the school was like an oasis. And now, when there is so much of everything, either my eyes run wild, or laziness: they say, okay, and then we’ll have time. In the old days, when unexpectedly and suddenly the opportunity arose to visit Sunday schools, temples, people just grabbed onto her. Now, alas, they have become more indifferent.

Our common miracle

- Are there holidays at your school?

Certainly. We have two traditional celebrations. The first is the school's birthday. By the way, this year we turn twenty years old. We organize skit parties, where the guys “cut through” everyone. No, there is never malice here - rather sweet and light youth humor, grotesquerie. And only the little ones act like angels with their rhymes and songs. The second holiday is special and very important - Christmas. We are having a huge celebration. Now our Christmas tree has become so popular in the city that for 300 tickets there are twice as many people interested. The diocese helps buy gifts, and the academy helps with premises. We do everything else - the performance, the fair, congratulations, games - with the help of graduates, parents, and children. This is not easy work! We start preparing ahead of time, and our poor children, young and old, rehearse everything New Year holidays. The guys write the script themselves, direct it themselves, and perform it themselves. They accomplish a real small feat. But then we all participate in a real miracle. A miracle common to little and big, students and teachers - for everyone!

- And yet, is there anything else that distinguishes your school from ordinary parochial ones?

Probably, the fact that in our school children always participate in the Sunday Liturgy. We have small temple, where the only adults in the service are the priest and me as regent. Our schoolchildren sing, sing, and read themselves. Such an “active” Liturgy gives a lot. We teach church singing everyone, regardless of their musical ear. This helps the children a lot and motivates them internally: during the service they wait for the public chants to begin and sing with the whole church.
Education without services can be provided in good gymnasiums. With us, they not only study, but also become involved in church - it turns out to be a kind of liturgical practice. That is why we are called a “church-theological school.”

- And can little students really withstand the entire service?

They hold up great! We have a very low iconostasis, or rather, there is no iconostasis as such, only a lattice that frames the entrance. And you need to see how the children from junior group they stand in front of everyone, clinging to this lattice - you never even need to wipe it, it is all polished with small hands. And they don’t just stand there, but they know that now there will be this or that chant that they must sing, and sing it cleanly. This engagement is remarkable. And, you know, ours Sunday services they support me so much personally! It happens that some problems and sorrows pile up, but when you come to a church overflowing with little communicants, there is such a feeling of joy and lightness in your soul! You immediately think: okay, we’ll survive!

Quote: At the age of 21, he accepted monasticism from the hands of Nicodemus with the name Cyril and became a hieromonk. Then his “external church activity” begins

None of his official biographies will ever include the story of his acquaintance with Lydia Mikhailovna Leonova, the young and pretty daughter of the cook of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU. For 30 years now they have had the warmest relations, which, by the way, gave rise to some Western journalists who are poorly versed in Orthodox canons, call Vladyka Kirill an “exemplary family man.” They say that now a number of commercial enterprises are registered at Lidia Mikhailovna’s home address in Smolensk, one way or another connected with the business of the metropolitan himself.

Quote: Publicist Vladimir Golyshev in his blog provides links to the official biography of the patriarch: he has a sister, but her name is Elena, she strives in the spiritual field - she is the director of an Orthodox gymnasium. Sister Lydia is not listed in the available materials.

Quote:- The name of Lydia Leonova first surfaced in the late 90s - when it turned out that several commercial structures were registered in her name in Smolensk, where the current Patriarch Kirill was the diocesan bishop. These structures, in particular, were involved in the notorious tobacco business - they controlled some kind of tobacco trade there and were involved in various types of investments.
There is reason to believe that Lydia Leonova, whom the future patriarch brought with him to Smolensk from Leningrad, is his financial agent of some kind, at least and a fairly close person, since they live in the same apartment. […]

Quote: In a troubled time of maximum discord in society, the church could theoretically become an oasis of peace, and perhaps even a guide to the establishment of civil harmony. But it became just the opposite.

For opponents of the current government, the Russian Orthodox Church in just a month found itself in the same bad company with the Party of Crooks and Thieves and the Ministry of Sadism; V. Gundyaev stood in line with V. Putin, and V. Chaplin became something like a new Surkov.

This is very, very, very sad.
And it's a shame. Because they don’t give a damn about “United Russia” - in ten years no one will remember this name; Oprichniki cops have always been around us, and people have always hated them. The Russian Orthodox Church is a completely different matter...
Amazing saints, great thinkers, deepest culture, ascetics and martyrs - throughout this bright eternity Gundyaev's comrades with with a light heart framed. Yes, it’s more likely they, vested with power and dignities, and not girls from a punk band, ordinary Maslenitsa holy fools, maybe publicized, but sincere.

No one is putting pressure on the current Russian Orthodox Church from above or threatening reprisals.
She could easily maintain neutrality in the dirty political mess and take care of the peace of mind of her parishioners. But no - something (greed? lust for power? mutual responsibility?... I don’t know) forced Patriarch Kirill to become one of the “first students” in Putin’s class.

Perhaps this will spur part of the flock to pogroms, the other part - will indicate the exit from the temple. There is nothing to be happy about in either case.

Her fate is closely connected with the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. She is one of the first students of the regency branch of the LDA, which was opened in 1978 on the initiative of her brother, the future Patriarch Kirill. Twenty years ago she founded a diocesan church and theological children's school at the academy, which she heads to this day. He also holds the position of assistant to the rector of the academy for cultural and educational work. Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva told the Foma correspondent about her childhood, studies and the main work of her life.

Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva has been the permanent director of the church-theological children's school for twenty years now.

“We won’t give you our daughter!”

- Elena Mikhailovna, during the worst anti-religious years, you, the daughter of a priest, went to an ordinary Soviet school. Were there any difficulties associated with this?
“From early childhood, my dad told us: “If you are believers, remain so in everything, and if you give up on anything, that’s it, and in the rest of your life you will seek compromises with your conscience and circumstances.” And we, looking at our father, never hid our faith, we were neither Octobrists nor pioneers. Moreover, our peers respected us very much. But I got it from the teachers, especially my brother. He studied brilliantly, but he was called to the director's office regularly. It was a little easier for me, a girl, behind his back. When we lived in Krasnoe Selo, everything was simpler, the teachers even sympathized with us. Some, seeing how we stood against the atheistic barrage, respected our position and views. I remember how the physics teacher said: “Lena, forgive me, but today I must say that there is no God.” But when we moved to Leningrad in the ninth and tenth grades, the situation was completely different. As soon as I brought the documents to school (the daughter of a priest, not a Komsomol member...), they immediately called my mother. She came, and they told her: “We will fight for your daughter. We will not give her to you!” Mom, a wise woman, answered: “Try it.” Faith was already such a natural state for us that my mother didn’t even worry. Although it was very difficult at this school. Many classmates, seeing how I was constantly under pressure, tried to stay away, so I didn’t really have any friends there.

- What was this pressure?
- Yes, in everything. You come to the test, and they tell you: “You will take it later.” And then you sit in the evening, without the guys, in the laboratory. And they can give you any grade, regardless of your answer. For example, in social studies she answered - strictly in accordance with the text of the textbook. The teacher read it and asked: “You don’t think so, do you?” I answer: “No, of course.” She insists: “Write then what you think”... But we were already literate in these matters, and I replied that I would not write anything. They gave me a C, although the written answer was completely correct in their coordinate system.

Pioneers

- And after school, you became one of the first four students at the newly opened regency department of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. What memories do you have of those years?
- It was unusual. After all, we women have always perceived the academy as a man's world. And when we were given the opportunity to study, it could not be called anything other than a miracle. And this opportunity, of course, required a responsible attitude from us.
In addition, no one gave us any discounts at the academy. From the very first days we began to study seriously, mastering the program in its entirety. It is worth remembering that at that time Soviet women and church education were completely non-overlapping concepts! And the four of us were pioneers here...

- It was incredibly difficult, it seems like it was...
- It was very interesting! I began to receive my church education as a child, from my dad. Then she began working in the library of the theological academy. But I always had the feeling that this was not enough; there was a thirst for real study. And then suddenly it was like a dream came true! Even if it was such a small number, we were enrolled in the academy. By the way, a full-fledged group of female students soon formed.

- How did the boys react to the appearance of girls in their harsh male environment?
“They immediately split into two camps: some didn’t like the fact that we showed up, while others, on the contrary, understood how important it was and supported it. After all, a lot depends on professionally trained female regents in parishes. In general, there were no indifferent people. Then, of course, some guys started courting girls. But the Bishop Rector immediately warned everyone: no weddings in the first years! And so it was. Only later did families begin to be created, and it is wonderful that future priests could find wives who were close in spirit within the walls of the academy!

- What level of education did you receive, what did it give you first?
- A lot. Firstly, it systematized everything that was learned and studied earlier. Secondly, the perception of the world has changed in some ways: it was interesting to study, it was already a different way of life. And finally, the inner rise was amazing! It seems to me that I would never have had the courage to open a school if I had not had the regency department behind me.

- And you didn’t just open a typical parish school...
- Indeed, when in 1990 there was a wave of opening of all kinds of Sunday, parish schools and courses, I decided for myself: if we teach children theology, then teach it seriously. Even the little ones. With the blessing of the late Patriarch Alexy II, who was then our ruling bishop, we formed a church and theological school at the theological academy. Since there were no clear programs yet, only tasks, we took “our own” into the first set - the children of teachers and staff of the academy. But the popularity of the school grew, and people from outside began to come, bringing their children.

Who is studying with you now?
- A variety of children - from 6 to 18 years old. There were cases when a child entered school, and over time it turned out that his parents were unbaptized people. One boy, while studying, even brought his mom and dad to Church! Or there was a young man who studied, although only averagely, graduated from school, got married and suddenly “dragged” the whole family to us: his wife helped us put on holiday programs for a long time. There were many amazing stories. It’s nice that for many today our school determines their way of life. Yes, the demands are high, but the more you demand, the better it turns out. Many children play sports at the same time and study at music schools; we only welcome this.

- You said that children from 6 to 18 years old study at school. But every age needs its own approach...
- Of course, we have our own program for each age category. The program for the elementary group (6–10 years old) is close to the one followed in pre-revolutionary families: we tell how to behave in church, study worship, gospel texts, church fine arts and singing. Kids study for 3–4 years, then move on to the next, intermediate level.
In the middle group, children do what they usually do in Sunday schools. They study the Old and New Testaments, an introduction to dogmatic theology, church regulations and Church Slavonic. It is more difficult to study in the middle class: this is our basic education.
The senior group is already more similar to a student group - both in level and in the form of education (instead of lessons - lectures and seminars). The guys work according to adapted seminar programs. They study the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, general church history, moral theology, and write diploma theses. Recently they took a moral theology test, and I was amazed at how the guys talked about those serious issues (including those outlined in the Fundamentals of the Social Concept of the Church), about which Orthodox Christians must certainly have a certain opinion. It is no coincidence that the subject itself is built on dialogues. The teacher explains how the Church views a particular problem, the children express their opinions, ask questions, and as a result, together they come to a common position. Just by the kind of problems they touch upon and how they speak about them in class, it is clear that the students in the senior group are already serious people.

- Who teaches at school?
- The senior group is led by seminary students: a fine arts teacher from the icon-painting department of the seminary, the Law of God for the younger ones is read by a girl from the regency class, the music class is taught by our graduate, who is now graduating from the conservatory.

- School is discipline, unlearned lessons, bad grades... What about you?
- Indeed, this is discipline, exams, tests, compulsory attendance, expulsion for poor performance, grades, honors diplomas. The educational process is the same as in a regular school. Everything is very serious.

- Does it happen that your students drop out of school?
- If we talk about little ones, it often happens that their parents “leave” school. Imagine, on Saturday, after a week of work, we have to take them to school, and on the second day off we have to take them to our church again. After all, here, in a sense, a feat is required from the parent. So, if parents get tired or start to be lazy, then the children leave. But this doesn't happen often. When parents of children see what wonderful boys and girls we have in the senior group, they try not to miss classes.
Our main problem today is the middle group. Children of this age stop learning, and it is very difficult to recruit new ones. I can't figure out what's wrong. After all, 12–13 years old is the most difficult age. And they need to live it together with the teacher, together with the school... Then they have a natural desire to see their children the same after a while.

- Has the population of parents changed during the existence of the school?
- Yes. In the first years, people suffered, and you could really feel it. For them, the school was like an oasis. And now, when there is so much of everything, either my eyes run wild, or laziness: they say, okay, and then we’ll have time. In the old days, when the opportunity to attend Sunday schools and churches suddenly and unexpectedly arose, people simply grabbed it. Now, alas, they have become more indifferent.

Our common miracle

- Are there holidays at your school?
- Certainly. We have two traditional celebrations. The first is the school's birthday. By the way, this year we turn twenty years old. We organize skit parties, where the guys “cut through” everyone. No, there is never malice here - rather sweet and light youth humor, grotesquerie. And only the little ones act like angels with their rhymes and songs. The second holiday is special and very important - Christmas. We are having a huge celebration. Now our Christmas tree has become so popular in the city that for 300 tickets there are twice as many people interested. The diocese helps buy gifts, and the academy helps with premises. We do everything else - the performance, the fair, congratulations, games - with the help of graduates, parents, and children. This is not easy work! We begin to prepare ahead of time, and our poor children, young and old, rehearse throughout the New Year holidays. The guys write the script themselves, direct it themselves, and perform it themselves. They accomplish a real small feat. But then we all participate in a real miracle. A miracle common to little and big, students and teachers - for everyone!

- And yet, is there anything else that distinguishes your school from ordinary parochial ones?
- Probably, the fact that in our school children always participate in the Sunday Liturgy. We have a small church, where the only adults in the service are the priest and me as regent. Our schoolchildren sing, sing, and read themselves. Such an “active” Liturgy gives a lot. We teach church singing to everyone, regardless of their musical ear. This helps the children a lot and motivates them internally: during the service they wait for the public chants to begin and sing with the whole church.
Education without services can be provided in good gymnasiums. With us, they not only study, but also become involved in church - it turns out to be a kind of liturgical practice. That is why we are called a “church-theological school.”

- And can little students really withstand the entire service?
- They hold up great! We have a very low iconostasis, or rather, there is no iconostasis as such, only a lattice that frames the entrance. And you should see how the children from the younger group stand in front of everyone, how they cling to this lattice - you never even need to wipe it, it is all polished by little hands. And they don’t just stand there, but they know that now there will be this or that chant that they must sing, and sing it cleanly. This engagement is remarkable. And, you know, our Sunday services are so supportive of me personally! It happens that some problems and sorrows pile up, but when you come to a church overflowing with little communicants, there is such a feeling of joy and lightness in your soul! You immediately think: okay, we’ll survive!

Anna Ershova, May 2010

Evgraf Duluman
(According to documents and official
messages on the Internet)

Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova

The Patriarch declared her his non-existent second cousin.

None of the official biographies of Patriarch Kirill Gundyaev will ever include the story of his acquaintance with Lydia Mikhailovna Leonova, the young and pretty daughter of the head of the catering department of the Leningrad Regional Committee of the CPSU. For 30 years now, they have had the warmest relations, which, by the way, gave rise to some Western journalists, poorly versed in Orthodox canons, to call Bishop Kirill an “exemplary family man.” They say that now a number of commercial enterprises are registered at Lidia Mikhailovna’s home address in Smolensk, one way or another connected with the business of the metropolitan himself.

...The name of Lydia Leonova first surfaced in the late 90s - when it turned out that several commercial structures were registered in her name in Smolensk, where the current Patriarch Kirill was the diocesan bishop. These structures, in particular, were involved in the notorious tobacco business - they controlled some kind of tobacco trade there and were involved in various types of investments.

There is reason to believe that Lydia Leonova, whom the future patriarch brought with him to Smolensk from Leningrad, is his financial agent of some kind, at least and a fairly close person, since they live in the same apartment.

...She could be a distant relative, maybe a spiritual child, maybe just a tenant. In any case, for true believers, a wave of provocative articles is obvious as a result of the fight against Putin and United Russia. And even a patriarch with three sixes on his forehead will not shake a believer in his faith. For they believe not in the patriarch, but in God. The Church is an institution for preserving knowledge and its purity, as well as helping those who go to God with advice and rituals. As long as Kirill does not introduce new trends from himself into the church, it does not matter what the newspapers write about him. Moreover, the former official in question, apparently, good relations with the authorities, including Putin. Why then didn’t Putin “protect” him?

…It’s a family thing for them, managing other people’s money. After all, the “sister” should receive compensation. Or Kirill is scorching and he and his “sister” still have common housekeeping and he really is, as the Western press so innocently wrote, “a decent family man.”

... Official historiography is silent about Mrs. Leonova. Therefore, its status is unclear to us: so we could at least refer to some official document. There is an unofficial historiography that dates back to the publication of the German magazine Stern around 1993-1994, where Metropolitan Kirill is described as an “exemplary family man.” And it is even stated that he has children. Below is our portal with a link to different sources- in particular, on Sergei Bychkov from Moskovsky Komsomolets, who conducted various investigations concerning the life of the future patriarch - for several years he wrote that this Mrs. Leonova is the daughter of a certain official from the Leningrad regional party committee. The future patriarch met her back in the early 70s, when he was a student at the Leningrad Theological Academy. And supposedly, ever since then, she has accompanied him everywhere - she lived in Smolensk, and now in Moscow. Therefore, the word “sister” should perhaps be understood in a spiritual sense, and not in a physiological one.

Famous German magazine "Stern" due to the dense ignorance of its employees at one time - back when His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited Germany in the rank of Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad - told readers about the family and personal life of monk Kirill. And about a cozy house in Switzerland, and about his passion for alpine skiing and driving fast sports cars, and about his wife, and even about children and dogs... And out of deep respect, he even named Father Kirill, neither more nor less, but "an excellent family man".

It must be said that Lydia is a faithful common-law wife and the same age as His Holiness, and not a young “kept woman - a pampered girl.” She and “Holiness” gave birth to good and smart children. Another thing is why the Russian Orthodox Church does not tell the truth and why does Lydia continue to have a tobacco (from the devil) business? Why does the Russian Orthodox Church consider ordinary conception (a gift from the Almighty) to be flawed?

What unchrists! No, to call the PR service of the Patriarchate and find out how to do it Right tell readers about the hard life of a hermit prayer life high-ranking monks! Well, by God, like little Samoyeds - “what I see is what I sing!”

As a result, ever since then, all sorts of blasphemers and ahalniks have been “persuading” the poor Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova in all conceivable cases. Even His Holiness himself, in connection with the recent apartment scandal, was forced to make excuses - they say, she is not my wife, but just a fighting friend, registered in the same living space with me. This, they say, is my sister, like, “a nun in the world.” When he said “sister,” it must be assumed that he meant, of course, not his only sister Elena in the whole world, but a “sister” in faith, in the spirit of entrepreneurship. After all, he usually addresses everyone like this: “Brothers and sisters!” Therefore, Lydia Leonova is also his “sister,” although not his own.

Lidia Mikhailovna Leonova- (01/27/1947) - “A nun in the world”, who for 38 years - since the distant “Soviet” year of 1974 - has been relentlessly accompanying monk Kirill through life. She moves with him to all new places of residence, accompanies him on trips and participates in his commercial enterprises. According to spiteful critics, more than 300 tobacco commercial organizations were registered in her name. It was Lydia Mikhailovna that the Stern employees had in mind when they called Kirill “an excellent family man,” and it is she who is now officially registered in the apartment and lives together with the monk Vladimir Gundyaev.

And here’s how he talks about this in an interview with Yuri Vasiliev (03/23/2012) editor-in-chief independent network resource “Portal-Credo.Ru” Alexander Soldatov: “ Question: The option with the sister was discussed above. Is there a more or less official explanation of who Lidia Leonova is related to monk Kirill? Except for the communal neighbor, of course. Answer: Official historiography is silent about Mrs. Leonova. ... There is an unofficial historiography that dates back to the publication of the German magazine Stern around 1993-1994, where Metropolitan Kirill is described as an “exemplary family man.” And it is even stated that he has children. Further, our portal, with reference to various sources - in particular to Sergei Bychkov from Moskovsky Komsomolets, who conducted various investigations concerning the life of the future patriarch - wrote for several years that this Mrs. Leonova is the daughter of a certain official from the Leningrad Regional Party Committee. The future patriarch met her back in the early 70s, when he was a student at the Leningrad Theological Academy. ... ever since then she has accompanied him everywhere - she lived in Smolensk and now in Moscow. Therefore, the word “sister” may be worth understanding in spiritual sense, and not in the physiological." (http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/article/24525100.html).

Elena Mikhailovna Gundyaeva- real and the only one sister of the Holy One. She devoted her life to the Church, worked for many years as the director of an Orthodox gymnasium and is proud of her brother.

However, not only the Germans, but also the patriarchal “eccentrics” also do not catch mice (their business acumen is not the same as Kirill himself!). No, in order to promptly clean up all the biographical “apocrypha”, they left them that way to this day - they say that Kirill has only a sister, Elena, the pilgrim, and only a brother, Nikolai, the pilgrim.