The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill Gundyaev, stated that in 1943, a “completely new era of Orthodoxy” began. He called Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and his successor Vladimir Putin “miracles of God.”
This was reported by Glavkom, citing a sermon by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"There are various legends about Stalin, and while I cannot attest to their accuracy, it is a fact that in 1943, Joseph Vissarionovich invited patriarchal locum tenens Sergius and permanent members of the Holy Synod for a conversation. He began the meeting with a Russian proverb: 'Your Eminences! Who recalls the past loses an eye (let bygones be bygones - ed.).' This marked the beginning of a new era for Orthodoxy in the Soviet state. What can we say about the events that followed? Very little, except for one thing: it was a miracle of God! Despite the destruction of churches, monasteries, and the imprisonment of priests and monks, everything was restored remarkably," said Kirill.
As is well known, the Russian Orthodox Church, in its current form, was established by Joseph Stalin, who controlled it as part of the Soviet authorities' apparatus, using it to fulfill tasks beneficial to the Soviet regime. Late at night on September 4, 1943, the remnants of the church leadership were summoned to the Kremlin: Sergius, the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne; Alexius, Metropolitan of Leningrad; and Nicholas, Metropolitan of Kyiv. Stalin readily agreed to all the clergy's requests, as the Russian Orthodox Church was becoming integrated into the state structure.
Sergius was elected Patriarch of Moscow and promptly began praising the Soviet authorities and Stalin. In 1944, when the Red Army occupied the western territories of Ukraine, one of the common objectives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Soviet authorities was to undermine the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in those areas.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church has been actively utilized by the Russian authorities, particularly by Vladimir Putin, as a tool for propaganda. "Today, at the head of our state is a sincere Orthodox Christian. Not for political reasons, nor out of expediency, but of his own free will and deep faith, and this, of course, is reflected in the lives of the entire people..." stated the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.