Update: Since this piece was published, the vice-president of Russia's Academy of Sciences, Yury Balega, was quoted as saying by the RBC news website that the academy would not grant the award to the Patriarch "for the time being" after several members expressed their opposition.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has been named an honorary professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ (RAS), an RAS spokeswoman said Friday.

The announcement comes a week after Patriarch Kirill warned that smartphone users risked falling under the control of the Antichrist. Members of RAS, Russia’s premier science body, have in recent years criticized the organization over increased interference from state officials and a series of controversial reforms.