Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria (1966- ), Representative of the MP to the European Institutions. Like his patron Kirill, he is more a church diplomat than a diocesan archpastor.
Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria believes that those who criticise the remarks made by Metropolitan Kirill Gundyaev of Smolensk and Kaliningrad are nothing but outsiders. “Vladyki Kirill has a very extensive body of work, in literary, video, and audio sources. Therefore, one can cavil at some of his statements. But, it seems to me that all of this is simply an ploy, it could be coming from outsiders or it come from people who are simply lacking in conscience”, Bishop Hilarion said in a broadcast on Radio Radonezh, in reply to a question from a listener about why there were recent attacks against the remarks of Metropolitan Kirill. Vladyki Hilarion expressed his regret that, today, “our expectation of the Local Council, which is an extraordinary event in the life of the Church due to its responsibility to elect a new patriarch, is sullied with human passions”.
“Apparently, some parties are speaking out against some of the candidates, most of all, of course, against the Locum Tenens, because his work is easily accessible, one can read his books, watch his videos, or look up his articles”, he said. Other candidates, he continued, “are criticised less, simply because there are fewer writings and speeches from them. I think that if we find that a man has made no public speeches, if he has no books or articles available, of course, one cannot find anything to criticise in his remarks, because those statements are simply not there”, Bishop Hilarion noted.
He also believed that rumours of opposition to Metropolitan Kirill are false. “There is no real opposition to Metropolitan Kirill. There are some marginal groups, who are nothing but provocateurs, who try to ascribe to Metropolitan Kirill something that he did not say, to say that he did what he did not do, in an attempt to confuse church people, to introduce amongst them such sentiments”, Vladyki Hilarion said. In this case, he noted that, on the contrary, he meets peoples at random that indicate, “Now, we pray for the Metropolitan Kirill, but, when we look for his videos, no one seems to know where to find them. I have heard the like from all sorts of people. I have never met any real enemies of Metropolitan Kirill. They exist only on the Internet, but, in real life, I have not yet found any”, Bishop Hilarion said.
16 January 2009
Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=28289
Editor’s Note:
I wish to state clearly, from the start, that I have no “insider” information whatsoever. However, I believe that an analysis of the words of Bishop Hilarion betray an insecurity in the camp of Metropolitan Kirill. For instance, he denies that Kirill has real enemies. That is false, and why did Hilarion made such a statement? It is ludicrous. Kirill has been a controversial and ambitious figure over the years. For instance, is all the brouhaha concerning the Kapalins simply Internet rumour? If so, why did not Hilarion say so directly? Or, is he is saying that all opponents of Kirill are to be smeared? Do remember that Hilarion played an equivocal role in the English crisis concerning Basil Osborne. Is this another instance of the same? There is a record of the proceedings in that instance…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
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