A senior Russian Orthodox Church bishop often described President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual adviser has praised the late American conservative Charlie Kirk as a “martyr,” saying his death could inspire Russian missionaries.

Metropolitan Tikhon Shevkunov, writing on the Orthodox website pravoslavie.ru, called Kirk’s killing “his greatest sermon and the pinnacle of his mission.” He lauded Kirk’s Christian faith and conservative principles, values the Kremlin has increasingly embraced as a counter to Western liberalism.

“In the hearts of millions of allies and friends, Kirk’s martyrdom breathed new, multiplied life into their cause and convictions,” Shevkunov wrote, acknowledging that the American was a relative unknown in Russia before his death earlier this month.

Kirk, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump who founded the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot dead while speaking at a university campus in Utah on Sept. 10.