Proekt
Patriarch Kiril and his companion, Lidia Leonova
A new investigation has revealed the 50-year-old “secret companion” of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill — officially, his “second cousin.” According to the canon law of the Orthodox Church, a patriarch cannot be married and must remain celibate.
According to a new investigation by the independent Russian newspaper, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirillhas had a “secret companion” for over 50 years, Lidia Leonovawho lives in the patriarch’s apartment, manages the house and regularly accompanies him on trips.
According to the portal, which analyzed the Proekt investigation, Lidia Leonova was publicly identified for the first time as member of the inner circle do Patriarca Kirill in 2012, after a scandal which involved an apartment belonging to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in House on the Margina luxury condominium located right in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, in the center of Moscow.
It all started when the patriarch’s downstairs neighbor, Yuri Shevchenkoformer health minister who became a priest, began renovation work. The dust produced by the works rose to the apartment above, causing damage that led to a legal action, not brought by the Patriarch, but by Leonova.
Thanks to this process, the public learned about the existence of the apartment luxury of the Patriarch and the the fact that Leonova lived there with him.
The court ended decide in favor of Leonovaforcing Shevchenko to pay compensation equivalent to the value of his own apartment at the time. Their attempts to appeal the decision were rejected without analysis.
Orthodox canon law dictates that a patriarch cannot marry and must be celibate. Therefore, according to Proekt, the Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov advanced quickly with a alternative explanationpresenting Leonova as second cousin of Patriarch Kirill.
Solovyov claimed to have obtained this information in an interview with the Patriarch, but the images were never transmitted. He added that Kirill told him that the apartment It had been a gift from the authoritieswho had never lived there, and who had allowed two second cousins, Leonova and another woman, to reside there.
However, as Proekt highlights, There is no documentary evidence known linking Kirill and Leonova through family ties.
Little is known publicly about Leonova herself.
In 2004, religious scholar Alexander Soldatov wrote in Ogonyok magazine that Lidia Leonova was “the daughter of a cook from the Leningrad Regional Committee of the Communist Party” and that Vladimir Gundyaevthe secular name of Patriarch Kirill, maintained with Leonova “a warm relationship”.
His story, Soldatov added, “will never appear in any of Kiril’s official biographies.”
According to Proekt, Leonova’s maiden name was Kholodova. In the 1970s, married a Ukrainian, Mykhailo Leonov. Journalists believe that the marriage fell apart quicklybut was never formally dissolved.
When Gundyaev was appointed archbishop of Smolensk in the 1980s, Leonova moved with him. Later, she also lived with him in his residence in the Serebryany Bor neighborhood, in Moscow.
A few years ago, the Archimandrita tikhon used the State archives to compile an extensive family tree of the patriarch’s family, going back to Kirill’s great-grandfather. There is no family member with the surname Kholodov. in that record, and Proekt also found no such family ties.
Proekt also highlights a book by the journalist Ksenia Luchenko on the recent history of the Russian Orthodox Church. Luchenko quotes a person close to Gundyaev, who visited him frequently when he was still metropolitan, and who described Leonova as being deeply involved in your affairs.
“She knows how everything works at homeis involved in her relationships with various people, controls who needs help and who gifts should be sent to”, said the source, adding that “is quite naive to think that she is just a second cousin.”
Leonova frequently accompanies the Patriarch on trips abroad. In 2019, he traveled with him to Baku, where Kirill marked the 10th anniversary of his enthronement.
It is also identified as owner of a company called Vladolida name that journalists believe is a junction of Vladimir and Lidia.
This company manages real estate properties and owns a commercial property of 200 m² in an apartment building in Saint Petersburg. Leonova is also the owner of a 121 m² apartment in the same building, which, according to previous reports, was offered to him by a long-time associate of Patriarch Kirill.
Ownership of the apartment at Casa na Margem is currently hidden in the Russian land register, a common practice among senior managers and their family members.
Proekt maintains that the property remains registered in the name of Patriarch Kirill. Journalists also found evidence that Leonova resides there. A 2022 database of Moscow residents lists Gundyaev as residing at that address, indicating the Leonova’s phone number as contact.
Leonova also appears as the owner of theother goods associated with Kiril including several high-end vehicles: a Lexus RX450h about 15 years ago, a BMW X3 in 2013 and a BMW X5 in 2021.
Although Proekt journalists point out cannot definitively confirm that Gundyaev and Leonova maintain or have maintained an intimate relationship, consider that Leonova fulfills all the criteria of a de facto companion.
