| On the 29 th of October, the Primate of the Assyrian Church of the East led the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Moscow Assyrian Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mat Maryam) - the Representative Office of the Assyrian Church in Russia. His Holiness Catholicos Mar Awa performed the rite of the great consecration of the renovated temple altar and Divine Liturgy in the company of members of the Assyrian delegation. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church who accompanied the Assyrian First Hierarch were present, as well as the Ambassador of Iraq to Russia K. al-Janabi, the leadership of the Representation of the Kurdistan Region in Russia and the Consul of the State of Palestine in the Russian Federation J. Malki. At the end of the service a solemn act, reception and meeting of the Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa with members of the youth movement of the parish of Mat Maryam were held in the representative premises of the temple complex. The hosts of the festive evening were the rector of the temple, the representative of the Assyrian Church in Russia, Chorbishop Samano Odisho and the head of the parish community churchwarden V.V. Ilyushin. On the 30 th of October, a delegation fr om the Assyrian Church of the East visited the churches of the Patriarchal Chernigov Palace and the Ss. Cyril and Methodius Institute of Postgraduate Studies. The meeting of Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa with the members of the faculty and students took place in the Assembly Hall of the Institute. The meeting was followed by a conversation between the distinguished guest and Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, Rector of Instutute, during which the parties discussed issues of academic co-operation between the educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East. In the context of his visit to the Institute of Postgraduate Studies, Catholicos Mar Awa also had a conversation with S.G. Alferov, a lecturer of the joint course of the DECR and the Institute called " Ancient Oriental Churches " . The Primate of the Assyrian Church welcomed the teaching of this course, noting that the initiator of its establishment back in the early 1970s at the Moscow and Leningrad Theological Academies was Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov), of blessed memory - mentor of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus " Kirill. His Holiness the Catholicos also approved the idea of creating a special educational programme within the framework of the course, dedicated to the study of the heritage of the Syrian Christian tradition, and expressed readiness to assist in the organisation of joint thematic events, including in Iraq. |
| On August 6, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church attended the consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral performed by His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III. He celebrated the first Liturgy together with over one hundred bishops and clerics of the Assyrian Church of the East. Solemn reception at the Patriarch’s residence followed. That same day, the Primate of the Assyrian Church had a number of meetings with the heads of foreign delegations. Archimandrite Philip greeted His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and presented him with a Korsun Icon of the Mother of God. On August 7, members of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation were received by the head of the Assyrian Christians. The meeting was joined by Metropolitan Mar Afram Athneil, Bishop of Syria; Chorbishop Samano Odisho, representative of the Assyrian Church of the East in Russia; and Mr. Maxim O. Rubin, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Erbil. The Primate of the Assyrian Church of the East cordially welcomed the delegation from Russia and noted the significance of the centuries-long fraternal relations between the Russian and Assyrian people. He thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for his kind attention to the Assyrian faithful living in Russia and in other countries of the Moscow Patriarchate’s canonical responsibility and expressed high opinion of the work of the Commission for Dialogue between the two Churches and its initiatives. His Holiness Mar Awa III expressed profound concern about the situation in Ukraine, frequently reported facts of discrimination against clerics and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the latest events around the Kiev Lavra of the Caves, and a guilty verdict against Metropolitan Ionafan of Tulchyn and Bratslav. “Every time I hear news from Ukraine, I feel a burning pain in my heart. Together with my brothers archpastors, clergymen and faithful we have expressed and will continue to express our solidarity with my beloved brother His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and with the spiritual head of the Ukrainian Orthodox, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy, and all the flock entrusted to his care. Every day we lift up our ardent prayers for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state, for abundant God’s aid to them at this hard and maybe fateful time. Beyond any tiny shade of a doubt, the spirit of hatred and enmity towards everything Russian and Orthodox has been inspired by the devil. Yes, he had managed to commit many atrocities, but we know and firmly believe that he will not have the last word,” said Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. |
| In April 2016, the Russian Orthodox Church Holy Synod determined (Proceeding No. 34) the membership of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation to the Pan-Orthodox Council and His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was notified of it in an appropriate letter. Concurrently, critical remarks began to be voiced concerning draft documents soon after their publication, coming from the episcopate, clergy and laity of the Russian Church. The Moscow Patriarchate, the Department for External Church Relations and other Synodal bodies received en mass letters from the Orthodox faithful criticizing the Council’s texts and the very process of preparations for the Council. In response to the confusion of the flock, the Department for External Church Relations came out with the necessary explanations and comments by publishing an appropriate statement. To ensure a broad discussion on the Council’s draft documents, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, a conference on ‘The Pan-Orthodox Council: Opinions and Expectations’ took place on April 19 at the St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University of the Humanities in Moscow. As a result of this conference, some amendments to the Council’s documents on ‘Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World’, and ‘The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today’s World’ were prepared and submitted to the Supreme Church Authority for consideration. In spite of the decreasing period of time remaining till the convocation of the Council, there are still a multitude of unresolved problems, which question the possibility for the Council to reach a pan-Orthodox consensus. The Council’s Working Procedure, prepared at the Synaxis of the Primates of Orthodox Churches on January 21-28, 2016, in Chambesy, has not been signed by the delegation of the Patriarchate of Antioch. The draft document on ‘The Sacrament of Marriage and Impediments to It’ has not been signed by the delegations of the Patriarchate of Antioch and Georgia. The proposal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to use the remaining time for starting pan-Orthodox negotiations on this matters as part of the Pan-Orthodox Secretariat, ‘with the consequent consideration of the proposals developed by the Synaxis of the Primates of Local Orthodox Churches’ (His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia’s letter to His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople No. 01/818 of 26 February 2016) has not been supported by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Secretariat met only twice for the past period to be engaged predominantly in logistical matters. The proposal of the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Pan-Orthodox Secretariat to consider the negotiation of the documents was declined. |
| Patriarch Kirill noted that in spite of the fact that the Russian Orthodox clergymen had left China, they had made their mark in the spiritual life of the country. “Their work resulted in the establishment of the Chinese Orthodox Church, with her bishops and clergymen. Up to 1960s, the Chinese Church united thousands of the faithful,” His Holiness said. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church recalled his first visit to the Russian Embassy in Beijing in 1993, saying: “Since then the restoration of the Church of the Assumption has begun. We worked together with our Chinese colleagues, representatives of the Administration for Religious Affairs, and our joint work has resulted in the restoration of the Church which we all can now look at with admiration.” “We are deeply convinced that the restoration of the Chinese Orthodox Church is also a very important task, which should be a matter of our common reflection and joint work,” His Holiness said, noting that the process should be based on the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and be in compliance with Chinese laws. Patriarch Kirill emphasized that everyone he had discussed the issue with had expressed that point of view. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill expressed his confidence that the relationships between China and Russia, as well as Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova (these countries form the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church) would develop. His Holiness said, in particular: “I am deeply convinced that this cooperation is called strategic not for nothing, as the prosperity of our countries and well-being of our people depend on it.” After the reception, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, accompanied by Mr. Andrey Denisov, Russian Ambassador to China, and by the members of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, visited the Church of the Assumption and appreciated the results of its restoration. His Holiness visited the museum of the Russian Orthodox Mission in China, located in building of the Church, and shared his recollections of Metropolitan Viktor (Sviatin), head of the 20 th Russian Orthodox Mission in China. |
| His Holiness told the guests about the life of the Coptic Church at present. Its Egyptian flock numbers more than fifteen million, plus two million in diaspora. There are over one hundred Coptic dioceses in the world. Becoming even more important for the church ministry is the work with children and the youth, including young families on which the future of the nation depends. Metropolitan Dionisiy of Voskresensk conveyed greetings and good wishes from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus " to His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II and expressed gratitude for warm hospitality always accorded to the church delegations from Russia. He noted that it was his privilege as the chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate and the first Patriarchal vicar to come to Egypt for the first time as head of the delegation of Russian monastics and meet the Primate of the Coptic Church. “Egypt, sanctified by the Most Holy Theotokos, the Lord and the Righteous Joseph, is a holy land for all Christians. It is the cradle of monasticism and homeland of its founders. The Russian Orthodox Church has always held spiritual experience of Egyptian zealots in veneration, but today she is getting acquainted with it anew. We see in your country not only ancient roots of Christian faith, but the living Coptic Church which remains faithful to its heritage and brings good fruits to our Lord. Egyptian Christianity has given the multitude of zealots to the world, and in modern times your faithful continue to set examples of holiness, including martyrdom and profession of faith, bringing Paschal joy of the Resurrection of Christ to the world and generously sharing His love with us. We felt brotherly love and hospitality as soon as we set foot on the Egyptian land,” said the chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate. He noted a lot of potential for further strengthening of friendly and trust-based relationships between the two Churches that have been actively developing in the recent decade with direct involvement of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II. Metropolitan Dionisiy continued to say that it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the Commission for Dialogue set up in 2015 with the blessing of the Primates of the two Churches. This Commission carries out unique projects in scholarly, theological, administrative, media, social, youth and other spheres pertaining to the church ministry in today’s world. A special place in this fruitful cooperation belongs to mutual visits of the delegations of monastics to Egypt and Russia. Metropolitan Dionisiy shared personal reminiscences of his meetings with the Coptic delegations in Moscow and expressed his hope for successful continuation of cooperation. |
| His Holiness made a positive assessment of the exchange of experience accumulated by ecclesial specialists working in the social sphere as well as the development of interaction between the two Churches in academic cooperation. At present, a multitude of initiatives are being implemented in students and professors exchanges, common participation in issue conferences and contacts on the level of library stocks and schools for precentors and icon-painters. ‘Our theological schools are ready to continue enrolling students from the Coptic Church’ His Holiness said, ‘It is known that a considerable number of students from Egypt, with Copts among them, are studying in Russian secular high education institutes. They also study in our universities. There are in total about 700 young Egyptian Christians who study today in various educational institutions of the Russian Federation’. His Holiness noted that each Coptic student who comes to Russia needs to feel care on the part of the Russian Orthodox Church, ‘In this connection, I have instructed local dioceses to invite them to meet with their ruling bishops and to get them to take part in youth activities. This year, there have been a great number of such activities in many dioceses of the Russian Church’. His Holiness put a special stress on the need to resume the work of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and Oriental Churches and to continue bilateral theological consultations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church. His Holiness asked to convey the best wished to His Holiness Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II, who this year marks his 70 th birthday and the 10 th anniversary of his election to the Patriarchal See. ‘I think our next meeting during the bilateral dialogue could do even more effective our joint movement to meet halfway’, said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In his response, Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the hospitality and conveyed to him best wishes from His Holiness Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II. |
| Patriarch Kirill met with the DECR Chairman and the Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe 09.04.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates moleben in Donskoy Monastery at the shrine with St. Tikhon’s relics 07.04.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with Metropolitan Constantine of Zaraisk 04.04.2024 Metropolitan of All America and Canada Tikhon extends condolences for victims of terrorist attack in Krasnogorsk 25.03.2024 Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the 25th anniversary of the start of NATO aggression against Yugoslavia 24.03.2024 The Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches head the Divine Liturgy and take the funeral for the bishop of Moravica Anthony at the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow 16.03.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with the primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church 15.03.2024 Congratulations of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the President of Turkey on his 70th birthday 26.02.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill " s condolences in connection with the murder of the monks of the Ziquala Abo Monastery in Ethiopia 24.02.2024 Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the XII Christmas Parliamentary Meetings at the Federation Council of the Russian Federation 23.01.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill: Patriarch of Constantinople is not a free man 07.01.2024 Christmas Message from Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Rus’ 06.01.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill had phone conversation with Metropolitan Ioann of Belgorod and Stary Oskol 02.01.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill expresses condolences over deadly earthquake in northwest China 19.12.2023 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill congratulates Mr Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on his re-election as President of Egypt 19.12.2023 Patriarch Kirill met with the DECR Chairman and the Patriarchal Exarch of Western Europe 09.04.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates moleben in Donskoy Monastery at the shrine with St. Tikhon’s relics 07.04.2024 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with Metropolitan Constantine of Zaraisk 04.04.2024 |
| It is planned that during his visit to the island His Holiness will meet with Fidel Castro and the Chairman of the Republic of Cuba’s State Council Raul Castro and the rehabilitation center for children “Solidarity with Panama”. On Sunday, February 14, His Holiness will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Russian Orthodox church of Our Lady of Kazan in Havana. There will be another important event in Cuba. Because of the intersection of the itineraries of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis of Rome, who will be on a visit to Mexico in the same days, it has been decided to hold a meeting between the heads of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church on the Freedom Island on February 12. The meeting will take place at Havana’s international airport. The meeting of the Primates of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church has been in preparation for a long time. Throughout the years 1996-97, intensive negotiations were held on the arrangement of a meeting between His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and Pope John Paul II to be held in Austria, but these negotiations were stopped because of the problems on which the agreement failed. In the first place, it concerned the actions of the Greek Catholics in Ukraine and proselytism of Catholic missionaries in the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the same time, the Supreme Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church has never rejected a possibility itself for such a meeting in the future when the necessary conditions for holding it will be in place. All these years, the principal problem in the relations between the two Churches and the principal obstacle for holding a meeting between the two Primates has lied in Unia . The fact that the Uniates devastated three dioceses of the Moscow Patriarchate in western Ukraine in the 1980s and 1990s, that they moved the headquarters of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church from Lvov to Kiev, that the UGCC’ mission extended to the traditionally Orthodox lands in eastern and southern Ukraine, that they supported the schismatics – all these factors only aggravated the problem. The situation aggravated further as a result of the recent events in Ukraine, in which the UGCC representatives took a direct part, coming out with anti-Russian and russophobic slogans. So, regrettably, the problem of Unia is still there, with Unia , remaining a never-healing blooding wound that prevents the full normalization of relations between the two Churches. |
| In church present at the service were the chairman of the oversight committee of the Orthodox Russia public movement M.M. Ivanov and the president of the International Foundation of Slavic Literature and Culture and editor-in-chief of the Russky Dom magazine Alexander Krutov. The liturgical hymns were performed by the combined choir of the Orthodox Volunteers choir singers and the youth choir of the Tver diocese under the direction of Anna Golik. The TV channels Soyus and Spas, as well as the official site of the Russian Orthodox Church patriarchia.ru, broadcast the Patriarchal service live. At the Litany of Fervent Supplication special petitions were added and the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church read the prayer for Holy Russia. At the Liturgy His Holiness ordained deacon Dimitry Gatin, cleric of the Church of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker in Zelenograd, to the priesthood. Before communion the sermon was delivered by archpriest Alexander Ptitsyn from the Moscow Church of the Ascension by the Saint Nicetas Gates. After the Liturgy His Holiness the Patriarch, accompanied by hymns, said the prayer to the holy hierarchs of Moscow and venerated the relics of Saint Peter and Saint Philip of Moscow. The Primate of the Russian Church addressed the faithful with a sermon and then distributed the following church awards to: the metropolitan of Kaluga and Borovsk Clement for his diligent archpastoral service and the occasion of his fortieth anniversary of his episcopal consecration, who was presented with the Order of Saint Seraphim of Sarov (2nd Class); archpriest Maxim Kozlov, for his labours for the good of the church and the occasion of his thirtieth anniversary to the ordination of the priesthood, who was presented with the Order of Saint Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow (2nd Class); and Alexander Krutov for his contribution to the preservation of traditional spiritual and moral values in society and on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday, who was presented with the Order of Saint Daniel of Moscow (3rd Class). |
| The participants in the meeting discussed the life of compatriots. After the tragic events of the October Revolution, many people left Russia and some of them settled in the territory of present-day Macedonia. The Russian population there today numbers forty-eight thousands. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia expressed his appreciation for the good attitude of the leadership and people of Macedonia to the Russian people residing in their country. Among the topics raised at the meeting was the situation of Orthodoxy in Macedonia. According to His Holiness, the re-establishment of the canonical status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church will be an essential factor for preserving the national, cultural and religious identity of the country. Therefore, it is important to solve this problem through the fraternal dialogue with the Serbian Orthodox Church. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia noted the alarming changes in the life of the European states that are deviating from the traditional understanding of family as a union between man and woman, as well as from the traditional understanding of personal and family morality. “The institution of marriage is been rapidly destroyed,” the Primate of the Russian Church said. “However optimistic the various propaganda clichés might sound and however frequently we might be told that nothing bad is going on, the vast majority of the Europeans see a great danger in it.” Patriarch Kirill noted that the voices of the majority are often not heard. According to His Holiness, one may wonder whether people today, including those living in the European continent, can be free in expressing their opinions that differ from the views of political and financial elites. “Many Europeans are aware of the fact that it can lead the civilization to a catastrophe,” Patriarch Kirill said. “As a believer, I am deeply convinced that the only law of life, without which there is no life at all, is a moral law, implanted by God in human nature,” His Holiness continued and noted that the Church should say to the modern society what it can and can’t do in order not to break the God-given law of life. |
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