Church within

Speaking today at a plenary session of the Duma, Mitrofanov proposed creating an Orthodox state in Russia, headed by a patriarch, modeled on the Vatican. “An Orthodox state could be located within Moscow with the residence of the patriarch in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior or in Sergiev Posad,” Mitrofanov believes. “Our church is separated from the state, and this principle needs to be consolidated territorially.” In his opinion, the creation of a “Russian Vatican” will raise the prestige of Orthodoxy throughout the world.