At a meeting with Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin, Moscow Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) said that “under the tsar-father everything was good and prosperous,” because at that time the Church was “part of the state apparatus.” Gundyaev also noted that after years of persecution “the Lord has once again shown mercy to the Church and to the Orthodox people,” referring to Putin’s rule.

Russian media quoted the Moscow Patriarch, reporting that the meeting took place on February 1 at the Kremlin. Kirill arrived at Putin’s residence so that he could be congratulated on the seventeenth anniversary of his enthronement.

Congratulating the patriarch, Putin noted his efforts connected with “managing such a large system.” “In addition to serving the Lord and the people, all of this still needs to be properly organized,” Putin said.

For his part, Kirill thanked Putin for the “interaction between the Church and the state,” which, in his view, represents “a rather unique case in Christian history, especially in Russia.”

“Under the tsar-father everything was good and prosperous, but the tsar was the head of the Church, which means that the Church was, in effect, part of the state apparatus. Therefore, when the revolution occurred and the tsar was removed, persecution was unleashed against the Church. Then came the most difficult years, accompanied by persecution of the Church and repression. In the end, nevertheless, the Lord showed mercy to the Church and to our Orthodox people,” he said.

According to him, the level of interaction between the Church and the state in Russia is very convincing evidence of the “correctness of state policy toward the Church,” as well as of the Church’s “worthy position in society.” In this, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church sees “a great merit of Putin.”