OREANDA-NEWS. January 28, 2009. Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Metropolitan Kirill on his election as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

In a telephone conversation with the newly-elected Patriarch, Mr Medvedev said he hoped for continued development of the dialogue between church and state, reinforcement of spiritual and moral values, and efforts to strengthen inter-faith harmony in Russian society.  

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