Nice way to make the old bandit come up smelling like a rose. He’s well aware of the deeply mystical Russian culture. He’s no dummy.
Eastern Orthodox Christianity went its own direction after the Great Schism of 1054. While Western Christianity had to cope with political and social upheaval, Eastern Christianity grew in a reasonably stable environment in Constantinople, and thus it had time to develop the mystical side of religion. All branches of Eastern Orthodoxy are heavily mystical.