Vladimir Putin told about the circumstances of his baptism
Moscow. 20 Nov. INTERFAX.RU — Russian President Vladimir Putin said that perhaps at the time he was baptized the father of the current Patriarch Kirill. The words of the head of state are shown in the film “Patriarch”, an excerpt from which was shown on channel “Russia 1” on Sunday.
“When I was baptized — it was at the end of 1952, my mother told me how it was. Baptized me in secret from his father, he was a member of the Communist party. I don’t know how this mystery was really serious, but in any case, I was told when I grew up,” he said.
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He noted that he baptized him in Leningrad and Transfiguration Cathedral.
“The priest, who then served there, offered to call her son, that is me, Michael. He says: today is Michael’s day, and I said, Michael. Mom apologized, saying, sir, sorry, we’re named in honor of his father. He says: okay. Such a kind, quiet father,” — said the President.
According to Putin, a few years ago, he asked the Patriarch how he “went to Church”, the Patriarch said that his father was a priest. From a conversation with the Patriarch, Putin learned that the father of the present Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, he served in the Transfiguration Cathedral in St. Petersburg in the fifties, and his name was Michael.
Putin said the Patriarch, whether served in the temple in that period other Michaels, and they were not.
“I told him: You know what, it seems, your father baptized me,” — said the head of state.