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The 2021 Russian Federation National Award for Outstanding Achievements in Humanitarian Activity was awarded to Metropolitan KORNILIY (Konstantin Titov) of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church
Metropolitan KORNILIY (Konstantin Titov) of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church was born on August 1, 1947, in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Moscow Region, into a family of Old-Rite Christians.
In 2013, he received the Order of Friendship.
After graduating from 8th grade, he became an apprentice turner at the casting and mechanical plant of the Orekhovo-Zuyevo cotton mill.
While working at the plant, he attended night school, a vocational training college and went on to graduate from an external degree programme at the Moscow State University of Mechanical Engineering in 1976. He worked at the plant for a total of 35 years.
In 1991, he chaired the church council of the Orekhovo-Zuyevo Old-Rite believers’ community.
In May 1997, he was ordained as a deacon, and became a priest in 2004. The same year, the Holy Council of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church designated him as a potential bishop. In 2005, Konstantin Titov took his monastic vows, received the name Korniliy, and was elevated to the rank of Archbishop of Kazan and Vyatka.
On October 18, 2005, the Holy Council elected him the head of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church.
As the primate of the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church, Metropolitan Korniliy continued efforts to overcome the isolation of the Old-Rite Church from Russia’s present-day spiritual and cultural life.
Metropolitan Korniliy sits on the Presidential Council for Coordination with Religious Organisations. As its member, he has been proactive in his efforts to promote harmony in relations between the Russian state and religions, as well as inter-faith dialogue, and also to defend and promote Russia’s traditional spiritual values.
Metropolitan Korniliy has made a meaningful contribution to strengthening and developing international religious and cultural ties, reaching out to compatriots living abroad, especially Old-Rite Christians around the world. These efforts laid the groundwork for bringing together followers of various Old-Rite denominations and facilitating their return to their homeland. Metropolitan Korniliy has been overseeing a programme for facilitating the repatriation of Old-Rite believers to Russia, primarily, to the Primorye Territory. More than 100 families have already settled in Russia’s Far East as part of this programme by acquiring agricultural land and building their homes there.
Seeking to support various projects initiated by Old-Rite believers, Metropolitan Korniliy worked with all major Old-Rite religious organisations to establish the Pravda Russkaya [Russian Truth] Foundation for Old-Rite Christianity Support and Development. The foundation has been sponsoring projects to restore Old-Rite churches and the most valuable icons.
In 2020–2021, Metropolitan Korniliy initiated celebrations to mark the 400th birth anniversary of Protopope Avvakum. Supported by the President of the Russian Federation, this undertaking celebrated Avvakum as a prominent spiritual writer and an innovator in Russian literature and philology. This included holding exhibitions in several Russian regions, as well as unveiling monuments to Protopope Avvakum in Moscow, Kaluga Region’s Borovsk, Naryan-Mar, and Belgorod. Moscow hosted the International Old-Rite Forum.
These celebrations included a plethora of educational, cultural and charity events offering an impartial insight into the complexity and contradictions of Russia’s religious history, while also showcasing the rich Russian spiritual culture and emphasising the importance of preserving traditional moral values and using them to consolidate modern society.