Kirill crowning

I was following the news about the 'crowning' of Kirill, new 'patriarch' of the orthodox church.
With the critic that Pope Benedict has faced lately on himself, I'm getting - again and repeatedtly - annoyed, if not disgusted, with some rituals in the religious world. Crowning ??? Patriarch ??? I thought we had passed all that... I'm wondering how so many people still follow these rituals. Am I the only one wondering ?