Vsevolod Chaplin

Chaplin was a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation[2] and rector of St. Nicholas on the Three Hills Church, Moscow.

[3] According to opinion polls, Chaplin was the most recognizable person in the Russian Orthodox Church, after the Patriarch Kirill (data from 2013 year)[4] and had a mass media reputation of an ultra-conservative cleric.

From October 1990 to March 2009, he was in the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, beginning as an ordinary staffer (1990–1991) before moving into public affairs (1991–1997), then being secretary (1997–2001) and vice-president (2001–2009).

In 2009 he was appointed chairman of the newly created synodal department for the Cooperation of Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate.

[8] Shortly after his dismissal, Chaplin gave a series of interviews which were sharply critical of Patriarch Kirill who he said would "not last much longer".