thanks thanks all we can be the generation that ends it. malaria must die so millions can live. carol the first as the patriarch of moscow and all russia he is more than a spiritual leader he embodies a religious entity that with its reach and influence will to power barely perceived in the west the power of the russian orthodox church.

as a church set on an expansion course even abroad like here in paris and twenty sixteen at the consecration of a new orthodox cathedral. as head of the russian orthodox church carol mingles with the mighty on the world stage with former us president barack obama pope francis chinese president xi jinping. syria's bashar al assad and of course the russian leader vladimir putin. the president and the patriarch are demonstrative little close allies two leaders united in their efforts to forge a new and ultra conservative russian identity. to leaders who share the same vision despite occasional differences in opinion. as a new actor on the international stage the russian church is asserting its authority on both the spiritual and the political front. carol who for russians is

the equivalent of the pope and a man hard to gain access to allowed our cameras to follow him for almost an entire year. q. in the thirty years since the fall of communism moscow has shaken off its subway era drab and emerged as a city glinting with golden duns. nearly fifty churches have been built since twenty ten and there are plans for almost as many more. the russian orthodox patriarch which also has its seats in the capital. behind these gates a center of soft power closely allied to russia's political leadership. the

monastery watched over by a few cars that gods harbors a mysterious and seemingly impervious institution. a universe of its own in which kill presides over thirty six thousand parishes and more than one hundred million followers. can you. carol begins every morning with a prayer and a mass in church slavonic the liturgical language used by the orthodox church in russia was was there about. where was the reactor you've got out of the way everything here reflects the eastern heritage of orthodox christianity the legacy of constantinople where the patriarch was practically the empress equal. if

you give me your ego but it was. the moscow patriarchate has existed for five centuries fifteen patriarchs headed it before carroll who was elected in two thousand and nine ever since. he's had his sights set on one. hero who wants to turn the russian church into a universal power the image in his mind is the power of the roman catholic church system for a church that functions and whose powerful representatives operate around the corner for churches influence is felt in all spheres of life in politics and society but also obviously internationally in other words a church with a truly global reach just uploaded to. you at his most a residence carol makes it clear that he does not see his role confined to that of a spiritual leader. in

a. most. sometimes i'm criticized for being too vocal in my position as patriarch. but i don't see any other option. in this secular day and age. to a religious figure a bishop and above all a patriarch. must be in the position to represent the church or christianity in a dialogue with any individual gardner so whether their heads of state are representatives from the area of politics business culture and so on that respect their. jury or if you are going. today the palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas is visiting the patriarch the two have met on numerous previous occasions. but that was just

a mistake you know that we are very concerned about the situation in the middle east including syria and iraq was terrorism has not been eradicated and so the danger of terrorist activity in the middle east is still very real which obviously worries us in the vision of the story for the multiplication of people over. the years. naturally we know that many people have fallen victim to the terrorist tactics of groups like islamic state. we stand side by side with all nations who want security and freedom especially russia to fight these extremists. following these penalize introductory remarks the two sides retreat for closed door talks. two days city and the palestinian delegation had met with glad to meet putin

. little taking place shortly after president donald trump. announced the u.s. would relocate its israeli embassy to jerusalem. and palestinians look to moscow for support from the kremlin and the patriarch it's. only politics. the line saw through if you want to protect to want to protect piece of the holy land the church play a political role but talk is only with president put and he can talk is a little with the but the powerful vatican he can talk with the jostle and we need him and we need the support we need. for. that. but would like to get it got secret deal with the issues it was madea put them out there are that we're fortunate very good should you have to learn our local how was

i live their lives are not yours we're about kashmir here. when meeting muslims are boss kirill is not only playing the role of church leader he's also a negotiator there are many russian orthodox and christian palestinians for patriarch kirill russia's presence in the region is vital for the for the protection of christians in the middle east has also a horse. shoe crab grown here let's see. another place central to carol's duties in moscow is the cathedral of christ the savior converted into a swimming pool in the soviet era it was restored after nine hundred ninety five and is today a symbol of russia's religious renaissance. carol it's not here to read mass.

in the cathedral scepter a name changes he made some of russia's most powerful men men from paintings in this circle. the speaker of the duma the russian parliament the first deputy chief of staff of the presidential executive office and the head of the constitutional court. at the patriots invitation they are attending the world russian peoples council. the annual forum was founded by carol in one nine hundred ninety three two years after the collapse of the soviet union. its aim to foster unity in the nation with the church at its core. food in the whole of the clergy sits next to

members of the military and representatives of nationalist groups but more importantly alongside representatives from k.p. years ago parties including pigeons united russia as well as members of the far right and even the communist party. i see a little more across the world russian peoples council is a perfect fit for this man's agenda and illustrates the way he sees his role and the role of the church at the which you. read it up and visit the boards really views the church as a core around which to rally the entire russian people to be intruding on the political elite. salim staunchest. british kalitta. this time the council's theme is russia in the twenty first century. society is threatened by the same problems and challenges as the family. the excesses of

the juvenile justice system same sex marriage the inroads of transhumanism all attempts to distort the nature of human existence. the political forum where everyone sings the russian national anthem united in shared ultraconservative than. i. in the centuries before the revolution the church played a dominant role in defining russian spiritual and cultural identity. alongside bizarre the patriarch was one of the most powerful men in russia. fucked all sorts them even though it's a condition of the cause the mere fact that this comes so was founded is indicative of carol's position as one of russia's leading political figures but if you just

get a good rest if you look at unofficial lists of russia's most influential figures it's no coincidence that he's always in the top ten or it's. a significant or business law that the most for your state this assembly is also tremendously important. it gives it political legitimacy is. of going to get in must see. today that church lends the government an air of respectability in return the government has helped the church restore much of its lost ground it's a strange reversal of history in a country that some seven decades ago so to stamp out religion. between nine hundred seventeen and nine hundred thirty nine the russian orthodox church faced three waves of persecution the clergy was high on the list of enemies of the revolution. were destroyed and looted.

in the one nine hundred twenty nine the practice and spread of religion became a crime members of the clergy was stripped of their civil rights many were arrested and deported to labor camps. by nine hundred thirty nine almost all of the churches that existed before the revolution were either closed or destroyed. carroll is determined to ensure this chapter of russian history is not forgotten. every year he visits the son of a ski island's. his seat archipelago in northern russia essential to also docks efforts to ensure salvage repression is never forgotten.

that if. this is. a centuries old monastery on the islands it was incorporated into the bolsheviks first concentration camps a test site for the soviet penal system that served as a blueprint for the lax a symbol of religious repression. eighty thousand prisoners was sent to this camp about a third perished inside its walls. if it did it is a bit different remembering the repression is a personal priority for the patriarch his grandfather was imprisoned in this very monastery because he was a priest. if. you. meet

somebody. shortly before i was there and he said fear nothing in this world fear only guard and i put my faith in the world to this man who spent more than twenty years in prisons and camps no worldly power has absolute control over humankind in this way we learned we could resist even the most powerful authority and still maintain our inner freedom to use what. mean is an expert on the russian orthodox church. a former associate of carols he's a moderate critical voice in orthodox circles he once ran the official journal of the moscow patriarchate. c m a pro hold it for the fame of persecution is a recurring leitmotif in patriarchal hero speeches in new york and it's important to him as the emphasize that it's not just part of the history of the country the people or the church but also part of his own family history. this history of persecution is also patriarchy personal history but it's

a. vision of the church as a survivor of the persecution is a very important and mobilizing symbol used to call on russians to return to the fold of young if you're a circus in the one nine hundred sixty s. anyone who became a priest knew they'd be ostracized from soviet society still it's the path carroll chose like his father and grandfather before him. he entered the seminary in one nine hundred sixty five six years later his superiors sent him to the geneva assembly of the world council of churches in this if you many organizations a kind of christian united nations promoting pacifism and religious diplomacy he learned the ins and outs of international relations under the tight control of the soviet state. only your. results were in the soviet union as in all communist countries at the time it was nearly impossible to be

a man. the church not have ties to the state where he and the communist state was synonymous with the police and the soviet union secret intelligence service the k.g.b. will usually take a look usually to put the keadilan. career path in the church was meteoric on the causal supports they need to know what was good but also at the age of twenty six or twenty seven became the representative of the russian orthodox church and spent three years in geneva. in the chain you know naturally the k.g.b. will approve his appointment. it would have been possible otherwise them. all delegation members who went abroad particularly the delegations leaders wrote reports to the committee of religious affairs. and copies of these reports went to the k.g.b. . go each or heal. so it is

correct to say that from a young age cure all had ties with the k.g.b. your chance of. the question is did he go through his collaboration betray any individuals or the interests of the church we just said. there are no straight forward to such questions. of the. patriarch here all represented the russian orthodox church and religious organizations in the west and he had little opportunity to betray people. about the chief unlike the clergy and church leaders back home raided with the k.g.b. inside the soviet union. they say that's cool so use. even today the k.g.b. remains the common denominator among a large section of russia's ruling elite. gullible.

during carroll's time in geneva he was naturally expected to pursue a very specific course of action. that proved a great educational opportunity in which to hone his political skills all the pilots a queue. at the end it's this shared soviet past that enables the patriarchy role to speak the same language as today's politicians and civil servants you can you. know music you. will continue. his ascent in the church then two decades into his career the soviet universe collapsed in the ruins of post soviet russia a religious resurgence that had begun with perestroika picked up momentum parishes had already been reopening since one thousand nine hundred eighty eight the millennial anniversary of russia's conversion to christianity which also saw baptism numbers saw. designers rocket scientists lin the one nine hundred ninety s.

the church moved to fill in a new void emerging through a lack of symbols identity and morals being movie buff assumed but that wasn't easy because the entire communist operators during the transition period remain a deeply until clerical and atheist. so the church had to assert itself it got its break when putin came to power because he understood that he wouldn't be able to build a new russia or claim that communism had been albeit just a small mistake in the history of this great nation without getting the church on board with and from that moment on an alliance of sorts was forged at the highest level of power. today the russian orthodox church has returned to its former glory. in twenty seventeen for celebrations to mark this interior of the patriarchates restoration it rolled out all of the pomp and ceremony of an established and institutionalized

church. on this occasion carol has invited the primates of fourteen churches who together lately all sit ups world. was. was ever was. four hundred archbishops and thousands of faithful. but the ceremony is just a prelude to the singing of a religious and your political meeting that follows that. all of the orthodox church leaders are received by vladimir putin at his presidential residence. thirty kilometers from moscow it's basically an outpost of the kremlin. that it could take you this is for the

simultaneous translation. of to believe you do unfortunately in the second decade of the twenty first century we are again confronted with something that seemed to have long since been condemned and down dated namely religious persecution but he's of course christians have also been targeted. christiane but of course the situation in syria warrants national attention many christian churches and monasteries have been plundered and destroyed it. for several years the russian state quickly gather with the russian orthodox church and other religious organizations which has been providing humanitarian aid to the victims in syria. and the protection of the projects for the protection of middle eastern christians and the preservation of christian values has afforded a hoot in the opportunity to cast himself in the role of benefactor and defender he presents himself as an honorable that internationally recognized politician who can

negotiate peace deals he wants once and for all to dispel his image as a dictator dictator. pool from the president putin for president putin or the church provides an opportunity to exert influence. uses this opportunity by demonstrating his closeness to patriarch kirill but also by presenting himself as a devout orthodox christian awesome it all send. off the docks last year for example when he bathes in icy water on the feast of russian orthodox epiphany in a ritual that marks the baptism of jesus he's doing what all russians do at him today he can speak directly to the russian people because he is just like them just like to. know that he has patriarch kirill is very keen on the

secularizing russian society he wants to empower the church on all levels politically socially and economically i need all the progress that we knew they know very well that they need each other and they know very well that this relationship has a high symbolic value. for qute interest for whom it's part of a mechanism lending his legitimacy and of course also for carol because he needs the support of the state. of course at the by difficult. carol does indeed need state support because although eighty percent of the population professes to be russian orthodox only focus and a regular church guy's numbers that mira attendance rates in the west and won't. push mom between state and church accelerated and that mass anti-government protests in the winter of twenty eleven and twelve.

forty. five. protesters condemned alleged ballot raking in parliamentary elections and demanded a rerun directing their anger at the kremlin. it was in this context that the activist group pussy riot performed its punk credit crisis a bit to feed well in moscow with a him like opening referencing traditional also talks music it exploded into a rant against her own and above all against putin i. think it is needed even if it is. indeed an. image. coming out of the video the foreman's went viral it landed two of the activist

sentences to two years in a prison colony igniting contentious debates in russian society but. i want to have a good song my glove with the right store and the main reason pussy riot ran into trouble was the line mother of god banished putin just some of abortion that the bill and seeing his name crop up in a prayer was totally unexpected for acute the slow he found it so unpleasant and i mix up. let me no doubt felt that everyone needed to feel the severity of his ultimate li unfounded reaction or she had not had a night's sleep. when you felt that the. church was willing to sweep all this under the carpet and not pay much attention to such performances of . anybody though like. everything that happened subsequently was the result of a personal insult to the president of slovenia ladyhawke sample but the need

a new procedure. they say could a nationwide day of prayer designed to hew divisions night better by the pussy riot protest. now that we see what you know but you have to be so that you can we have been attacked by persecuted i suppose. this attack is not comparable to the attacks we have experienced in the past. the danger lies in the fact that blasphemy sacrilege and derision of the sacred are championed does lawful expressions of human freedom that must be protected in our modern society let me just walk. away. if used it was a showcase prayer services like that not only drum together all of moscow's allergic wishing you could but brought an entire bus loads from neighboring regions

and your love so left all of us with a kind of spectacle performed for a single spectator. for putin to live with. a woman so that his mother tumor today debated a number of bills one designed to protect religious feelings was passed in a second reading deliberate and public insults to believe his feelings now carry fines of up to three hundred thousand rubles and prison sentences are up to one year these offenses inside the church allow fines of half a million roubles or three years in prison. in the wake of the church's response to the pussy riot performance the duma passed a law in twenty thirteen making it a crime to offend the religious feelings of the faithful. the boat paves the way for the conviction of a russian you tube who was sentenced to three and a half years on probation after filming himself playing talk among those in church

. with the help of parliament the orthodox church has increasingly exerted its influence on social debate since twenty twelve the church has tightened its grip on society. for example through no mandating the teaching of religion in schools russian legislation has grown increasingly conservative. but. this was followed by a number of further changes to the final. code of justice in particular that there was talk of same sex partners not being allowed to adopt children was and so on again yeah. every year it's a mock national unity day on november fourth carol and pollution opened a major exhibition celebrating the russian nation.

this time the scene is russia's future. players allow me to introduce my project this is an organic water purification facilitating a better place for this helmet is for people who can no longer move or talk they can use it to communicate and train their brains cut to the legs if we'd like to show you this motorcycle by the manufacturer a kalashnikov was. told to motor bike and go into production in the first half of the next year playing lex was he still sort of frontiers the exhibition on the future of russia is extremely interesting because it presents a double challenge and more probably the first is modernization in a russia that must exhilarate its pace in order to catch up with the west or even overtake it. said but this modernization is only possible if it is anchored within

russia spiritual and traditional values spirits read maybe i should add that it was such bad news presented in this exhibition in a rather peculiar way a film illustrates alleged threats to the russia of tomorrow in seems would be of the beholder and maybe. such. as they should be still. see this is not the way to peace. with such a. way this issue. with. the school. system

so those issues are. easy simply. to. be gene each or she's going to shoot in your book so what lay says is the russian population has to unite around the government and isolate people from the west. you know and there's just one topic that clearly unites the church and the government in separates them from the west's diminished not at least that was the case between twenty twelve and twenty sixteen and that is the topic of sexuality. heterosexuality that he and homosexuality forced you to get this should you not still possible after twenty twelve when the states began using the topic of gay marriage for propaganda purposes we saw a rise in anti european sentiments he wrote a piece get shoes which that i should russia was depicted by the propagandists not as a counterweight to europe a crock but rather as the real old europe because they assure star you will for

several posts so your op is taken the wrong turn and gone down the wrong path so what we've stayed on course. with the lawyer preview gene and yet if we look at the numbers in every day behavior of russians and we didn't we see of course the christian values are much more present in every day european life than is often the case in russia ukraine and russia continues to rank number one in the world when it comes to abortions. mom but the reality on the ground counts were little in the wider attempt to shape russian identity. in contrast to the west. russia is portrayed as exemplary. the church is strongly involved in promoting this image. yet when we lived in an atheistic society we orthodox christians and the faithful in general body he's identified more closely with the west than with our own society but thems that that why it would be different if because people there could go openly to churches and religious

practice was respected there was also i was just not the complete opposite is happening. we now see that the west is losing what united us. make peace that we no longer see western society. and as one shares our values opus look i thought it was delayed. me a look. at resisting developments in the west has become synonymous with the promotion of traditional values it's a way of regaining a lost identity and at the same time offers geopolitical leverage of issues because it paves the way to me alliances movements that are not only sponsored by this day off but also in religious or even political movements all generally based on traditional values or. on a visit to france in december twenty sixth seen the patriarch gives an impromptu press statement at the russian orthodox seminary in epping this is enough i asked

about same sex marriage carol reiterate so it stands. back up when you hear. that sheen yeah we're not demanding that people with any particular sexual orientation be treated more strictly. categorically oppose giving such relationships the same status as the god sanctified covenant of marriage from which children emerge ensuring humanity's continued existence what would you what belongs to god's plan must not be corrected by any politically motivated doctrine or action . but the real reason for carol's visit to france is the consecration of the russian orthodox trinity cathedral in paris. at the close of the uncle tell him it's part of a spiritual and cultural center built up to the intervention of both lot of the person and then french president nicolas sarkozy. financed by the russian state

it cost one hundred fifty million euros. or chink of was just genius and it exemplifies the alliance between the church and the state. so. so the church the new cultural center and the embassy form an entity with diplomatic status. basically this is a miniature edition of russia and the russian orthodox church with in france we have given you the strongest on the ground after seventy years of communism russia is completely rebuilding itself the image of a russia that is once again in a position to be a global player is inextricably linked to the doxy because nothing embodies russian identity more than its religion. the u.s. has hollywood and coca-cola russia has its liturgies with icons incense and elaborately robe to priests it's russia's way of making its mark to them and it's what sets it apart from the rest of the world. as. cool as you might.

say don't look see them on visits to the west curial is pursuing two objectives he wants to revenge allies the west which is in danger of demise making lawsuits and the idea being that it's up to russia to show people an alternative path to american liberalism and also he believes that orthodox christians of the russian tradition must now be subordinate to the jurisdiction of the moscow patriarchate to try to stop the nearest members of the russian community are attending the consecration. one of the reasons this church was built was to ingratiate influence over this diaspora.

said get inside it and she does have to help us get beyond this cathedral is a soft power tool because it can be used to mobilize and reunite the old russian diaspora that resulted from the revolution fifty. and the new diaspora that dates from the one nine hundred ninety s. from which the parish church draws its members. to eclipse in the orthodox church and with it russian state institutions want to restore the lost unity of the russian world deep down. at the knees it's and we're not using it to demonstrate its presence in any way not at all but very many russians and very many russian orthodox christians live in france he said yes and we have a duty to provide pastoral guidance surgeon you're owed almost the entire twentieth century since the first wave of russian immigration in following the revolution up until recently we only had a church in a garage on who protested the garage was converted into

a church imagining that to ask. him for. an actual fact there is a long been an orthodox church in paris opened by russian exiles after the nine hundred seventeen revolution. that it is under the patriarch case of constantinople regarded as the first among equals in the eastern orthodox church. rates go up with some hero is the head of the largest orthodox church but the formal head of the orthodox world is the ecumenical patriarch of constantinople. piro is not at all happy about this paradox like you present your always claim to speaking for the orthodox world in talks with rome he wants all orthodox churches to follow his lead when it comes to values. but the patriarch of constantinople is not his ally in this enterprise or what the interferes and that creates tension

over him and has been human appears right now. in his power struggle with constantinople carol uses his political promise and his community as numerical superiority to his advantage but he has one big weak point crane the country has the third largest also ducks population in the world in recent years after centuries under the moscow patriarchate it began turning its back on carol's church . the twenty fourteen my done protests in the capital kiev erupted in the division over whether ukraine should face east or west the crisis escalates had when russia annexed crimea and moscow back separatists seize territory in eastern ukraine today kiev and moscow remain locked in a tense stand off. ukraine is a sensitive subject for patriarch kirill. buster douglas an existential threat to carol addressing this dispute publicly is problematic because it's

a taboo subject. so the show also a plus for the church which will lead it had entered into a perfect partnership with the state on matters of foreign policy is reaching the limits of its power here as you know when it comes to ukraine the two entities have conflicting interests. it's election day in russia vladimir putin is certain to win the only question is how high voter turnout will be carol is playing his pass and calling on russians to go to the ballot box. just because we know the slogan for modern advertising because i want it. it would and i say that our people are worth it our nation deserves to have a new and better future may god protect russia i see. far removed from the advertising slogans of western corporations carol continues his church's fight for the soul of russia and will influence. his funds

is far from over.

for two quick check. the return of the markets. the momentum of the working world. your business magazine made in germany in thirty minutes on t.w. . entering the conflict zone confronting the powerful. the

trial of countless separatist leaders over the failed independence fig has laid some staunch divisions in spanish society my guest this week here in madrid is sprains foreign minister goes at a rally how does he answer the charge that the trials are fundamentally unfair. conflicts so for the moment on a double. closely . carefully. don't move too soon be sure. to be a good. match.

discover whom to. subscribe to documentary on. british lawmakers have voted against all eight possible alternatives to prime minister teresa mayes breck's a dale motions on a second breakfast referendum and commit in britain to staying in a customs. union attracted the highest number of votes but both were narrowly defeated it comes as may said she will step down if her cracks a deal is approved by parliament. health officials in mozambique have confirmed five cases of cholera amid warnings of a possible and.