Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill spied on Switzerland: Swiss media

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow is an outspoken ally of the the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine, spied on Switzerland for the Soviet Union in the 1970s, according to media reports.

Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, a strong supporter of Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine, spied on Switzerland for the Soviet Union in the 1970s, according to media reports.

The French-language Le Matin Dimanche and the German-language SonntagsZeitung newspapers cited declassified archives as evidence the religious leader had worked for the KGB, the Soviet Union’s main security and intelligence agency.

Kirill reportedly carried out espionage activities while living in Geneva as the official representative of the Moscow Patriarchate at the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The mission of Kirill, whose code name was “Mikhailov”, was also to influence this council, which had been infiltrated by the KGB in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Russian Orthodox Church has refused to comment on Kirill’s alleged espionage activities in Geneva, according to the reports, while the WCC says it has “no information” on the subject.