Follow up:
In my book, “The Baton and The Cross,” I explore how the Church shaped Putin’s Russia — and the part it has played in enabling the current bloodshed. I also demonstrate how, throughout its 1,000-year history, the Church has always sat at the right hand of power and done whatever it takes to ensure its survival, its influence and its own enrichment. The cases of opportunism and overreach today echo those from the past — and the story of Hilarion is no exception.
Until the full-scale invasion, he was part of Kirill’s inner circle and had a stellar career. Born Grigory Alfeyev, he studied music before he left to become a monk and took the name Hilarion. He has composed choral works and written a slew of theological books. From 2009, he was Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and headed the Moscow Patriarchate’s version of the foreign ministry. He was also a member of the Holy Synod and rector of the theological studies center named after Saints Cyril and Methodius. Some saw him as the Patriarch’s successor.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/11/07/russian-orthodox-priests-dont-practice-what-they-preach-a91083
