Russian Church meets to elect new leader

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Orthodox bishops, monks and laymen voted on Tuesday for a new head for the world's second largest Christian church in a contest between a powerful modernizer and an influential conservative.

Church bells rang in Moscow's Christ the Saviour cathedral as the 700-strong Local Council, made up of senior clergy in purple and sky-blue mantles, black-cloaked monks and laymen, took up their places ahead of voting.

A Church spokesman said it would take at least three hours to count the ballots to find who will lead the church's 165 million believers. The name of the new patriarch could be announced live on television by the end of the day, he said.

Modernizer and acting church head Metropolitan Kirill has led the contest to succeed Patriarch Alexiy II, who oversaw the Church's dramatic post-Soviet revival before his death last month. His main rival is conservative Metropolitan Kliment, 59, who supervises the Church's internal management.

Journalists were only allowed to be present at the start of the Council when Kirill made his address after prayers. The meeting was then held behind closed doors and no information on other speakers or debates was available.

Echoing Alexiy, Krill's address spoke of "the assault of aggressive Western secularism against Christianity" and of "attempts by some Protestant groups to revise the teachings of Christianity and evangelical morality."

He also hit out at Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries, saying they sought converts in post-Soviet Russia.

Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, is one of the most senior Russian clerics to have met the Pope. He favors closer ties with the Vatican and observers say he would chart a more independent course for the powerful Russian church.

Despite his criticism of Rome for its alleged missionary activity, Kirill balanced his comments with a more conciliatory reference to Catholicism, saying: "The alarming tendencies encountered by those calling themselves Christians across the world, compel us to keep dialogue with the most sane non-Orthodox confessions."

"PARTNERSHIP WITH STATE"

Underlining the close ties between the Church and the Kremlin, President Dmitry Medvedev said in a statement read to the Council that he was confident its decision would "further develop the fruitful cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church and the state."

Kirill said the Church's relations with the state should be based on "mutual non-interference in each other's affairs."

Critics of the late Alexiy accused him of allowing the Church to fall under the sway of the Kremlin. Former President Vladimir Putin was regularly shown at the patriarch's side and the church did not publicly criticize Russia's leaders.

But Alexiy is also credited with attempting to prevent bloodshed during a 1993 coup against then President Boris Yeltsin. Alexiy also raised his voice against the war in the restive province on Chechnya after Yeltsin sent tanks there.

Analysts say that as the global financial crisis bites deeper into all strata of Russian society, the importance of the Church as a guiding force may grow.

"More than once, our church has raised its voice in defense of social stability which is key to stability and peace in society," Kirill said, calling on businessmen to be "socially responsible" and the state "to support the socially vulnerable."

A large, ancient icon sat on a podium in front of the Council and the three shortlisted candidates. Brought from the town of Kostroma, north of Moscow, it is believed by the Church to be one of few miracle-making icons still extant in Russia.

(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; editing by Matthew Jones)