Kirill II or Cyril II (russian: Кирилл II; died 6 December 1281) was the

metropolitan of Kiev Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...

from 1242 until his death. He was close to the khan of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...

Mengu-Timur Munkh Tumur or Möngke Temür ( mn, ᠮᠦᠨᠺᠬᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Мөнхтөмөр; russian: Мангутемир, Mangutemir) (?–1280), son of Toqoqan Khan and Köchu Khatun of Oirat (daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n chronicles record that King

and Metropolitan Kirill sent Sarai Bishop Theognostus to the Emperor Michael VIII and the Patriarch of Constantinople as their joint envoy with letters and gifts from each of them. This embassy was probably held around 1278, as Theognostus returned to Sarai in 1279. It appears that relations with Egypt were also discussed by Theognostus with the emperor and the patriarch. Anyway, at about the same time, Meng-Timur tried to establish direct diplomatic ties with Egypt through Constantinople. Prior to 1251 was close to Prince

Daniel of Galicia Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...

(Danylo Halytskyi). In 1246 on the road to Nicaea he was negotiating with the Hungarian King

Bela IV Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal * Bela, Janakpur ...

, which resulted in the marriage of a Hungarian princess to Daniel Galitsky. Around 1251 Kirill left Daniel Galitsky, who in 1254 received the royal crown from the Pope. In 1251, he went to Novgorod, where he first met with Alexander Nevsky. Since 1251 Kirill almost continuously resided in the north-east of Russia, working closely with Prince Alexander Nevsky, constantly traveling around the country. In 1252, Alexander Nevsky became a ruler of

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

instead of his brother Andrew Yaroslavich, and the Metropolitan solemnly met Alexander Nevsky, who returned from the Horde, and supported his reign. Prince Alexander Nevsky and Kirill chose to recognise Mongol domination, and opposed Western Catholic expansion.

Church

Around 1252 Cyril received a charter from

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...

, which guaranteed the inviolability of the Orthodox Church. A charter of 1267, issued by

Berke Khan Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...

, has been authentically preserved. In 1258 he founded the bishopric in Tver. In 1261, with the assistance of Alexander Nevsky, an Orthodox diocese was founded in Sarai. In 1274 a council of bishops of the Russian Church was held in Vladimir, with the aim to order and restore the ecclesiastical legislation. In 1279, Khan Meng-Timur issued a charter that defended the faith and the sanctity of the rights of clergy from abuse by Mongol officials. Kirill appointed bishops to Vladimir, Rostov and Sarai. Kirill died in

Pereslavl-Zalessky Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...

, Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Suzdal. At first his body was moved to Vladimir, but later to Kiev where he was buried on a territory of the Sophia Cathedral compound.

External links

* Kotlyar, M.F.
Kyrylo II
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirill III, of Kiev Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (988–1441) Year of birth unknown 1281 deaths Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church Burials at Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv

Church

Further reading

External links