Church chief in scorching water as bombshell investigation exposes mistress and fortune
Russia’s Orthodox Church has been rocked by bombshell claims that Patriarch Kirill, its celibate leader, has secretly lived with a mistress for decades, amassing a fortune
Russia’s most important and influential church has been rocked by dramatic controversy. Explosive claims suggested that the church’s highest-ranking figure has secretly lived with his mistress, amassing a fortune of luxury homes and cars registered in her name, in blatant defiance of Church law.
A major scandal has erupted in the Russian Orthodox Church after investigative journalists from the Russian outlet “Proekt” revealed that Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Church, has allegedly been living in a secret relationship with a woman named Lidiya Leonova for over 50 years.
The Russian Patriarch has allegedly done so despite Church law strictly forbidding such unions. While Orthodox parish priests may marry before ordination, bishops and higher clergy, such as Patriarch Kirill, must remain celibate; that is, while marriage is permitted for some clergy, those in the highest ranks are required to be unmarried.
Numerous luxury properties and assets linked to Kirill are reportedly registered in Leonova’s name. While Kremlin propagandists, most notably Vladimir Solovyov, have claimed that Leonova is a distant relative of Kirill, analysis of official documents and biographies has found no evidence of any family connection, according to Ukrainian news portal Ua.news.
A significant portion of Kirill’s assets, including luxury flats in St Petersburg and Moscow, a country estate near Patriot Park, and a fleet of high-end cars, are reportedly registered to Leonova or to a company named “Vladolid” (a portmanteau of Vladimir and Lidiya). One St Petersburg property was even gifted to Leonova by a Swiss-Ex-Yugoslav businessman, Aleksandar Dimitrijevic.
Reports also suggest ties to Vladimir Lipary, director of a company in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s business empire, Serbian media outlet Blic reported. The bombshell revelations point to the creation of a private family structure at the heart of the Russian Orthodox Church, in direct contradiction to the monastic vows of poverty and celibacy.
Kirill’s biological sister, Elena Gundyayeva, also benefited from his rise, quickly advancing to senior positions in church institutions, though she too has faced allegations of immoral behaviour. Kirill, born Vladimir Gundyayev, reportedly first met Lidiya in Leningrad.
She was the daughter of a Communist Party cook and, despite marrying a Ukrainian man in 1971, is believed to have begun living with Kirill soon after. When Kirill was transferred to Smolensk in 1984, Leonova moved with him.
Witnesses say Leonova ran Kirill’s household, managed his gifts, and was involved in his business dealings. Although the Patriarch is forbidden from marrying, Leonova has accompanied him on private trips in luxury jets, including a week-long visit to Baku in 2019 to mark the tenth anniversary of his enthronement, where they were joined by Kremlin-linked oligarchs.
Patriarch Kirill’s controversies
Patriarch Kirill has been a staunch supporter of Russia ’s leader Vladimir Putin and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, even claiming that Russians fighting in Ukraine are not breaking the biblical commandment “Thou shalt not kill”. He has gone so far as to say that any attempt to defeat Russia would mean the end of the world, according to Blic.
Kirill was included in the EU’s sixth package of sanctions in 2022, but was removed from the list at the insistence of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Swiss media have previously reported that Kirill acted as a Soviet spy in Geneva during the 1970s, while officially serving as the Moscow Patriarchate’s representative to the World Council of Churches.
Estimates of Kirill’s net worth vary wildly, from approximately £79,000 to £3.16 billion. According to Forbes, his fortune in 2006, three years before he became Patriarch, was already in the billions, allegedly stashed in Swiss, Italian, Austrian, and Spanish banks, as well as offshore accounts.
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