14 DAY TRIAL // The current head of the Russian Orthodox Church, patriarch Kirill, is said to have received a fairly bizarre gift while touring a factory in the country's Far East. Long story short, the patriarch is rumored to have been presented with a SU-35 fighter jet.
It is understood that the head of the Russian Orthodox Church was handed the SU-35 fighter jet by workers employed at this factory, which specializes in engineering civilian and military aircraft.
Not the kind of fighter jet you can fly around in
Word on the Internet has it that patriarch Kirill was handed a real, fully-functional fighter jet. Consequently, many are busy scratching their heads right about now, trying to figure out what use the head of the Russian Orthodox Church could possibly have for such an aircraft.
Still, The Moscow Times tells us that patriarch Kirill is still a long way from pulling a Batman and flying around in a state-of-the-art jet complete with an extra seat for his Bible. Thus, it appears that the aircraft the Russian Orthodox Church received as a gift was a toy one.
More precisely, what the civilian and military factory workers actually gave patriarch Kirill was a scale model of a single-seater SU-35 fighter jet, the same source details. So no, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church won't be joining the country's armed forces anytime soon after all.
Information shared with the public by the Russian Orthodox Church says that, before being presented with this gift, the patriarch blessed the workers at the factory and also handed them icons. Apparently, the plant employees felt obliged to return the favor, and pulled out the toy fighter jet.
Why gift a patriarch with a jet, be it only a scale model one?
It is understood that patriarch Kirill is a supporter of Vladimir Putin's plans to put the former Soviet sphere of countries back together, and is not shy about using his influence over the 165 million members of the Russian Orthodox Church scattered across several regions to help the President see his dream come true.
Since Vladimir Putin's plans aren't the most peaceful to have until now been coined by a world leader, the patriarch must also back up the country's military equipment industry. From this standpoint, it's no wonder that fighter jets do not appal him, and that he now owns a toy one.