Patriarch Kirill is the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church. A former colleague describes him as a one-time anti-Kremlin nonconformist. Now, he’s blessing Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard and Victoria Dominguez, engineered by Paul Mounsey, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained  

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