↑ Bennetts, Marc. "Vladimir Putin, Patriarch Kirill alliance puts atheists at risk in Russia". The Washington Times. สืบค้นเมื่อ 30 November 2016. Mr. Putin, a former KGB officer, attends church services and portrays himself as a staunch defender of “Christian values.” In return, the Orthodox Church frequently issues public statements of support for Kremlin policies. Most recently, a church spokesman described Russia’s military campaign in Syria part of a “holy battle” against international terrorism.
↑ Baczynska, Gabriela; Heneghan, Tom (6 October 2016). "How the Russian Orthodox Church answers Putin's prayers in Ukraine". Reuters. Reuters. สืบค้นเมื่อ 30 November 2016. The ROC's close ties to the state were on display early in the Ukraine crisis when Kirill and the Russian Foreign Ministry issued nearly identical statements, warning against a confrontation and speaking of the larger Russia's "brotherly" Ukraine. When Russia sent its troops to Crimea, one of the justifications it used was an alleged threat to parishes there linked to Kirill's Moscow Patriarchate. Kirill's full title is "Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus," a reference to a medieval state in Kiev to which modern Russia traces its roots.
