Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, sent a congratulatory message to Pope Leo XIV, whose predecessor, Pope Francis, had criticized Kirill’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“You are beginning your ministry as the head of the Roman Catholic Church at a particularly historic moment, marked by a series of cultural challenges as well as certain signs of hope,” Patriarch Kirill wrote to Leo XIV.
“In this context, the relationship between the Christian East and West holds special significance for the fate of the world,” he added in his message to the newly elected pope.
Kirill did not specify what he meant by “signs of hope,” although he may have been referring to U.S.-led efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church is a strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, having given its blessing to the Russian invasion and supporting the president’s campaign to uphold what he calls traditional values in Russian society, in contrast to what is seen as Western decline.
In 2022, the Russian Church rebuked Pope Francis for using inappropriate language after the pope urged Patriarch Kirill not to become “Putin’s altar boy.”
In his message to Pope Leo XIV, however, Kirill left the door open to building bridges between the two Churches.
