France\u2019s intelligence agencies, already deeply engaged in monitoring personnel at Russian diplomatic, consular and trade missions, have extended their gaze to include clergy and parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) under the Moscow Patriarchate, which has a significant presence in the country. Following the opening of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in the very heart of Paris in 2016 – the largest Orthodox cathedral in Western Europe – its prestige has grown even further, raising concerns among local authorities and counterintelligence agencies. This official anxiety has manifested in a blatant media campaign aimed at tarnishing the ROCOR\u2019s public image. In a striking allegation, certain media outlets have even claimed the cathedral\u2019s iconic domes conceal radio antennas, purportedly used to intercept communications from nearby French government buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
French intelligence agencies have significantly ramped up surveillance targeting the clergy of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, seminarians at the Saint Genevieve Russian Orthodox Seminary and staff at other Russian religious sites across the country. The objective, much as it was during the Cold War, remains to uncover alleged illicit activities. However, the accusation has undergone a modern rebranding. Where Soviet-era Orthodox priests were universally suspected of being KGB agents and spies, their modern counterparts are now investigated as agents of Kremlin influence and instruments of Moscow\u2019s soft power. The authorities are specifically probing for evidence that the Russian clergy is creating new information channels to disseminate Orthodox ideology. This investigation has cast a wide net, even examining potential ties between the church, RT France and its former director Xenia Fedorova with her recent documentary Lumi\u00e8res Orthodoxes (Orthodox Lights), which showcased the world\u2019s most beautiful Orthodox churches and was broadcast on some French television channels[1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 Russian Orthodox Church looking for fresh media opportunities in Paris \/\/ Intelligence Online. 22.04.2025. \u2014 https:\/\/www.intelligenceonline.com.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Outre des efforts intenses d\u00e9ploy\u00e9s en surveillance \u00e9troite du personnel des institutions diplomatiques, commerciales et consulaires russes en France, les services du renseignement nationaux surveillent aussi attentivement les repr\u00e9sentants du clerg\u00e9 et les fid\u00e8les de l’\u00c9glise orthodoxe russe \u00e0 l’\u00e9tranger (EORE) du Patriarcat de Moscou, qui a une pr\u00e9sence importante dans le pays. Apr\u00e8s l’ouverture en 2016 de la cath\u00e9drale de la Sainte-Trinit\u00e9, la plus grande \u00e9glise orthodoxe d’Europe occidentale au c\u0153ur de Paris, son prestige s’est encore renforc\u00e9, ce qui a commenc\u00e9 \u00e0 inqui\u00e9ter les autorit\u00e9s locales et les services de contre-espionnage. \u00c0 cet \u00e9gard, une campagne de d\u00e9sinformation flagrante a \u00e9t\u00e9 lanc\u00e9e dans la presse afin de discr\u00e9diter les activit\u00e9s de l’\u00c9glise orthodoxe russe \u00e0 l’\u00e9tranger aux yeux du public. En particulier, les m\u00e9dias ont affirm\u00e9 que les coupoles de la cath\u00e9drale \u00e9taient \u00e9quip\u00e9es d’antennes radio permettant de capter des informations provenant des institutions publiques fran\u00e7aises situ\u00e9es \u00e0 proximit\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n En cons\u00e9quence, la surveillance exerc\u00e9e par les services du renseignement sur les eccl\u00e9siastiques de la cath\u00e9drale de la Sainte-Trinit\u00e9, les \u00e9tudiants du s\u00e9minaire orthodoxe russe Sainte-Genevi\u00e8ve dans la banlieue de la capitale fran\u00e7aise, ainsi que les employ\u00e9s d’autres institutions religieuses de l’\u00c9glise russe s’est encore intensifi\u00e9e. Comme auparavant, l’objectif consiste \u00e0 d\u00e9voiler leurs activit\u00e9s pr\u00e9tendument ill\u00e9gales. La seule diff\u00e9rence r\u00e9side dans le fait qu’\u00e0 l’\u00e9poque de l’Union sovi\u00e9tique, tous les eccl\u00e9siastiques orthodoxes \u00e9taient consid\u00e9r\u00e9s comme des agents du KGB et des espions, alors qu’aujourd’hui, ils sont consid\u00e9r\u00e9s comme des agents d’influence du Kremlin ou un instrument de la \u00ab puissance douce \u00bb de Moscou. Les autorit\u00e9s tentent notamment de d\u00e9tecter les tentatives du clerg\u00e9 russe de cr\u00e9er de nouvelles possibilit\u00e9s de diffusion de l’id\u00e9ologie orthodoxe. Dans cette optique, ils \u00e9tudient leur lien potentiel avec la cha\u00eene de t\u00e9l\u00e9vision Russia Today<\/em> en France (RT France<\/em>) et son ancienne directrice Ksenia Fedorova, qui a r\u00e9cemment r\u00e9alis\u00e9 le documentaire Lumi\u00e8res Ortodoxes<\/em> sur les plus belles \u00e9glises du monde orthodoxe, qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 diffus\u00e9 notamment sur certaines cha\u00eenes de t\u00e9l\u00e9vision fran\u00e7aises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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