Outside the Church of Christ the Saviour, the white, golden-domed headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Fifa World Cup 2018 souvenirs being sold in kiosks offer clues about the mega-show about to unfold.

Inside the building, clerical leaders have developed their own plan for using the tournament to promote their vision of Russia’s conservative culture.

Last week, Patriarch Kirill announced the creation of a new “sports commission” within the Church. Addressing an audience that included the boxer Nikolai Valuev, he said the time had come to create a “permanent system” of interaction between the church and sports community.

“Sport offers a way to elevate man’s physical and spiritual culture, and it should be a tool for the Church,” the Russian Orthodox primate said. “The task of an athlete is the same as that of a monk; without self-control there can be no success.”

The task of an athlete is the same as that of a monk; without self-control there can be no success Patriarch Kirill

Priests across the country have played their part in preparing the country for the tournament. They have blessed the stadiums and the teams. They have delivered sermons on the Christian nature of team sports. On Wednesday, the Patriarch gave his own blessing to the tournament.

He is expected to attend Thursday’s grand opening – just as he did at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

“The Patriarch wants to make the sports community more Christian,” press secretary Vakhtang Kipshidze tells The Independent. “The World Cup is great chance to do that, to help those new to the Church understand our spirituality.”

More than 70 per cent of Russians identify as Christian, but most wear that badge lightly.

World Cup: Vladimir Putin welcomes football fans and players

If one recent survey is to believed, no more than 6 per cent actually attend mass. But having been neutered during the Soviet era, the Russian Orthodox Church is now very much a force to be reckoned with. Much of its new relevance comes from an ever-closer bond with the state.

Under its current leadership, the Church has embraced the key tenets of Putinism: nationalism, exceptionalism, traditionalism, and hostility to liberalism and gay rights.

Some of its members played prominent roles in the Kremlin military campaigns in Syria and Ukraine, occasionally even blessing weapons systems.

The Patriarch regularly declares his fondness for Mr Putin, and threw his weight behind the president’s recent re-election campaign. His “vivid” victory spoke of the unity of the nation, he said.

At the Church of Saint Nicholas, a few blocks away, Father Alexander Shumsky is also, it seems, a fan.

Putin is a gift from God. And the World Cup was a gift from Putin. It is only thanks to our president, his determined efforts, that we have got the tournament in our country, thank the Lord Father Alexander Shumsky

“Putin is a gift from God,” he tells The Independent. “And the World Cup was a gift from Putin. It is only thanks to our president, his determined efforts, that we have got the tournament in our country, thank the Lord.”

Father Shumsky says the Russian World Cup will allow the Church to show the best of its traditional values to the world. It was only right for the Church to step in to “nourish” and “influence” the athletes, he adds.

The priest, a former amateur footballer, says he is looking forward to seeing his favourite players on Russian soil. From the current crop, he likes the “traditionalist” Lionel Messi – “He’s a believer, you see it when he crosses himself after scoring a goal. A good lad, someone who loves his family.”

Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Show all 28 1 /28 Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy hangs from a goalpost in St. Petersburg Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Self-made goalposts stand on a soccer pitch in Verkhnyaya Biryusa village, located in the Taiga area near the Russian Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy rides a bicycle near a goalpost in Yevpatoria, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Hay fills a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A car is seen through a goalpost while driving along a road in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Children play at a goalpost during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia, Alania Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Pribrezhnoye, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia People and dogs walk near a goalpost on the Ostrov Otdykha (the Island of Rest), located in the middle of the Yenisei River Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A boy rides a gyro-scooter near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian town of Divnogorsk Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Cossacks sit on a bench next to a goalpost covered with a screen during the traditional Cossack games outside the village of Arkhonskaya in the Republic of North Ossetia Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in front of an Orthodox church in the Siberian village of Tyulkovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Goalposts lay on the ground as people gather at a flooded beach on the bank of the Volga River in Samara Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in Yevpatoria Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man sits on a goalpost in the settlement of Novo-Schedrinskaya, Chechnya Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A participant is seen through a goalpost during an amateur football tournament at the Zenit Arena, a stadium made from straw, in Stravropol Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost in a yard of a Stalin-era high-rise building in Moscow Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Goats walk near a goalpost in the village of Pervomayskoye, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands at a tourist centre on the bank of the Belyo Lake in the Republic of Khakassia, Siberia Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the town of Dolgoprudny in the Moscow region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man runs near goalposts on a football pitch in a settlement in Stavropol region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A dog stands near a goalpost in Ryazantsevo settlement in Yaroslavl region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia Children play with a puppy near a goalpost on a football pitch in the Siberian settlement of Novosyolovo Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Lesnovka, Saksky district, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Zhuravli, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A man rides a horse near a goalpost in the village of Bolshaya Dzhalga in Stavropol region Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in Sevastopol, Crimea Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A cadet holds a model of a sword in front of a goalpost as he trains at the stadium of the General Yermolov Cadet School in Stavropol Reuters Away from the World Cup: the secret lives of goalposts in Russia A goalpost stands in the village of Glinka, Saksky region, Crimea Reuters

He is not so keen on Cristiano Ronaldo – “A bit different, isn’t he, from a liberal background.”

Father Shumsky came to prominence during the last World Cup in Brazil, when he declared the tournament to be the work of Sodom. The basis for his judgement appeared to be because some of the players were playing in bright pink boots.

“I felt it wasn’t right, blue boots are much more masculine,” he says today. “I’m totally against all these rainbow images too.”

If official statements are to be believed, Father Shumsky will be left disappointed by this World Cup too. Organisers have promised that the World Cup will be an LGBT+ friendly event, and traditional Russian state hostility to gay rights is set to be toned down for a month. There will be no prosecutions for unveiling rainbow symbols inside the stadium.

The leader of a nationalistic vigilante group associated with the Church said he hoped Russian traditions would be enough to “discipline” visitors.

“Perhaps the visitors might act differently in other countries, but in Russia people are simply forced to respect our thousands of years of history and culture,” says Andrei Kormukhin, leader of the 40x40 movement.

Russia would prove to be the most hospitable nation on earth – “but there will be no gays with bare bottoms out on the streets of Moscow”.

In Russia people are simply forced to respect our thousands of years of history and culture ... there will be no gays with bare bottoms out on the streets of Moscow Andrei Kormukhin, leader of ultra-orthodox vigilante group 40x40

Though not actually listed among official attendees, Mr Kormukhin says his organisation was among those participating in the Church’s new sports commission.

“Putin has said that by 2024, 55 per cent of Russians should be doing sport, so of course the Church needs to establish themselves in the country’s sporting life,” he says.

Given recent miserable form, some have joked that the full force of Russian spirituality is not yet established within the national football team.