GENEVA. Rumors that Patriarch Kirill It was KGB agent in the 1970s they circulated for a long time in Geneva. But now the files Federal authorities of Switzerland confirm this scenario. According to the newspaper Sonntags Zeitungfile was found in Bern for “Monsignor Cyril”, which confirms the information that the current Patriarch of Rus’ was an agent of the Soviet special services. In the period 1969-1989, there are 37 references to the actions of Kirillos, who is noted in the list of Soviet officials against whom “measures” were taken, without explanation of what these measures consist of. The newspaper quotes a Genevan who remembers being warned during the Cold War: “Beware of priests, because they are agents of the KGB.” In conversations with Kirillos, “I always had the feeling that he was looking for information. He was very friendly, but he asked many questions about the exiled community and the priests.”

The file on “Monsignor Cyril” was found in Bern. There are 37 references to his activities in the period 1969-1989.

Kirill was allegedly given the task of preventing criticism of the USSR at the World Council of Churches. According to the German theologian Gerhard Bezier, the KGB tried to influence the body in the 1970s and 1980s, so Kirill had to avoid criticizing the restrictions on religious freedoms in the former Soviet Union and focus on related problems in the US and its allies. Kirill’s nephew, who lives in Geneva, believes that his uncle was probably not an agent, but under the strict control of the Soviet secret services.

However, in his statement in the newspaper, he insists that in no way did he “sacrifice his honesty and devotion to the ecumenical cause of cooperation with other churches.” Sonntags Zeitung also points to the financial interests of the Russian Orthodox Church in Switzerland. The newspaper quoted a former police officer in the country as saying that Patriarch Alexy II flew to Geneva in a private jet in the 1990s to sell shares in oil distribution distributed by the Russian government. There is no evidence that Kirill was also involved in Russian oil interests. However, he was responsible for the international relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and was a close associate of Alexios during the period 1989-2008.