OREANDA-NEWS. February 1, 2009. The President congratulated Patriarch Kirill on his ascension to the Patriarchal Throne, and expressed his hope that this event will lead to a new era of growth for Orthodoxy in Russia and create new conditions for a fully-fledged dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the State.

On January 27, the Russian Orthodox Church Local Council elected Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad the sixteenth Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.