Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent a message of congratulations to Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad on his election as Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia by the congress of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The message reads, in particular: "This choice recognizes your exceptional services as a popular public figure, a wise and sagacious shepherd that firmly and consistently upholds the intransient values of the Russian Orthodox Church. You have played a big role in the unity of the Orthodox nations, and the canonic unification of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad with the Moscow Patriarchate.
I am convinced that under your leadership the church will develop consistently, and strengthen its cooperation with government and public institutions especially in culture and education, youth development, the family institution, charity and health care, and preservation of our wealth of national historic and cultural heritage."