| On September 18, 2018, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia met with Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun, Grand Mufti of Syria, at the patriarchal and synodal residence at the St. Daniel’s monastery in Moscow. From the Syrian side, there were Mr. Riad Haddad, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Arab Republic of Syria to Russia, Sheikh Abdulrahman Hassoun, assistant of the Grand Mufti, and Mr. Norfal Khalthoum, an interpreter. The Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR) was represented by Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, and Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations. Welcoming the high guest warmly Patriarch Kirill said in particular, ‘Since our latest meeting in 2014, many events have taken place. In the context of our bilateral relations, among the most important ones was the Russian Federation joining the struggle with terrorism in Syria’. According to His Holiness, the initiative of the Russian State to join the struggle with terrorism in the territory of Syria has met with support on the part of the religious circles in Russia. ‘The Interreligious Council in Russia, which includes Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews spoke out as well in support of the struggle with terrorists including in the territory of Syria’, he noted, ‘by God’s mercy, the results of this struggle proved to be positive, and the most part of Syria has been liberated from terrorists, although there are still hotbeds of tension. But we hope that these hotbeds too will be supressed and peace and justice will be restored in the Syrian land’. Continuing the talk, His Holiness expressed his opinion concerning the post-war restoration of a normal life in Syria, stressing the essential importance of preventing extremism. ‘Work is needed so that nobody and nowhere could use terrorist methods in the Syrian land to achieve their political ends. We believe it to be our fraternal duty, and I would like to underscore once again that this aid has been given both unilaterally by the Russian Orthodox Church and on the interreligious basis when both the Orthodox and Muslims from Russia sent together humanitarian supplies to your country. Among very good signs of our cooperation and interaction was that the humanitarian aid was distributed in both the territory of Orthodox churches in Syria and the territory of mosques. |
| Archive People in Mariupol have received aid from religious communities in Russia 17 April 2022 year 11:42 On April 15, 2022, in the left bank part of Mariupol, the distribution of the humanitarian aid collected by believers in Russia took place as part of the work of the Interreligious Working Group for Protecting the Rights of Believers against Discrimination and Xenophobia under the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. As a result of the joint efforts, about 15 tons of humanitarian supply consisting of, among other things, a thousand of food packages was collected in a short term and delivered to people in Mariupol. Each kit includes over ten kilograms of the most essential foodstuffs: macaroni, canned high-quality fish and vegetables, pastry, sweets, tea, sugar and other foodstuffs. The aid is targeted: beforehand a list of those in the greatest need was compiled locally and already today the food packages have been distributed to concrete families. Another part of the supply includes children hygienic essentials, as well as aids for nursing bed-ridden patients and the elderly. On the same day, a press conference was held at the International Multimedia Center “Russia Today” on the organization of the humanitarian aid given to Donbass by traditional confessions and religious communities in Russia. Journalists had an opportunity to ask questions of secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate and leader of the Interreligious Working Group for Protecting the Rights of Believers against Discrimination and Xenophobia, Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), adviser of the Presidential Office for Domestic Policy Pavel Kostylev; head of the legal service of the Diocese of Russia and Novo-Nakhichevan of the Armenian Apostolic Church Deacon Michael Parsadanian; representative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha in Russia Bato-Lama Dugarov; head of the Administration of the Presiding Bishop of the Russian Church of the Evangelical Faith Ivan Borichevsky; representative of the Russian Union of the Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals), Rev. Pavel Renner; fist vice-chairman of the Euro-Asian Division of the General Conference of the Church of the Seventh Day’s Christians Oleg Goncharov; and representative of the Russian Orthodox Old Belief Church Roman Atorin. The press conference was moderated by Ms. Olga Lipich, editor-in-chief of the Religions and World View section of the International News Agency “Russia Today”. |
| Russian Religious Communities Carry Out a Humanitarian Action in Syria Unprecedented in Its Scale Source: DECR On February 4, 2018, the delegation of the interreligious working group under the Russian President’s Council carried out a major action for distribution of humanitarian aid to suffering people in Syria. During the whole Sunday, the delegation members together with representatives of Christian Churches and Muslim communities in Syria distributed in churches and mosques the aid donated by Russian believers. Christian priests and Muslim clergy unloaded cars with humanitarian aid and distributed it together to Syrians in need regardless of their religious affiliation. The amount of the distributed goods set record – 77 tons. The cargo was prepacked in over 25 kg-boxes each intended for one family. The foodstuff kits formed taking into consideration the real needs of the Syrian population included flour, sugar, cereals, pasta, dried milk, sunflower oil and canned fish and meat. Syrian beneficiaries pointed to the high quality of the foodstuffs, the right choice of the goods and that many things in the list are very difficult to obtain in Damascus. The contents of each box can be sufficient to sustain a family of five for at least two weeks. The project is supervised personally by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The direct management is carried out by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR). It is an unprecedented action because never before such a full-scale interreligious delegation ever visited warring Syria to distribute aid and nobody ever realized such a project together with representatives of all the major religious communities in Syria. The action began early in the morning at the religious and educational center of the Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro Islamic Association. The guests from Russia were welcomed by the director of the association, Sheikh Shreef as-Sawaf and Mufti Adnan Afyuni of Damascus and the region. The delegation was introduced to the work of the educational center and saw classrooms. Then, in one of the streets in Damascus close to the Religious Center, a joint distribution of aid to people in need took place. As the Damascus religious leaders noted, in the recent time the population of the city has increased by a half million people from other regions in Syria who have had to leave their ruined cities and villages escaping from terrorists. These were the people who received aid at that distribution station. |
| About a month has passed since the tragedy in Paris when 12 members of the Charlie Hebdo magazine were killed in an attack. The reaction in Russia differed from that in the West. The cartoonists were not called heroes there, people doubted that freedom of speech was above the feelings of believers, especially when satirical pictures were made about Islam and Christianity. Thirty priests took part in a protest of millions in Grozny, demanding respect for believers. The Russian government and authorities of all traditional religions reached a consensus that offending religious relics provokes interethnic and interreligious hatred that may turn into a global conflict. The Russian Orthodox Church says that the world is undergoing a struggle against religious conscience that people need in order to gain internal freedom. The consolidation of believers to fight the process starts playing a special role. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia made a speech at the Christ the Saviour Church in Moscow yesterday about the life of Orthodox parishes in post-Soviet states. He described the relations between the church, states and public where the Russian Church has its missions. Azerbaijan The Church and the government are constructively cooperating, as seen from the restitution of Orthodox churches to the Baku Eparchy. Azerbaijani laws against extremism make the life of pseudo-Islamic and other destructive sects tough. Good relations are maintained with the Caucasus Muslim Board. Its head, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh, contributes to their development personally. Some problems do appear in relations with local authorities when realizing religious initiatives. Hopefully, there will be positive changes. Belarus The Belarusian Exarch puts effort into strengthening spiritual and cultural ties between the fraternal nations, preservation of traditional values. Despite significant positive results in the clerical-public dialogue, the problem of implementing lessons on the basics of ethics into the network of the school program remains unresolved. |
| Archive Press conference in Moscow on persecution of Christians in Africa 4 February 2022 year 22:07 On February 4, 2022, a press conference took place at MIA Russia Today with the online participation of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, Patriarchal Exarch for Africa, Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations and head of the Interreligious Working Group for defending the rights of believers from discrimination and xenophobia under the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. As Metropolitan Hilarion noted in his introductory remarks , every fifth Christian in African countries is subjected to persecution and each year thousands of African Christians have been deprived of life for their faith in Jesus Christ. “The Russian Orthodox Church considers the opposition to persecution on religious grounds to be one of its primary tasks on the international arena and for many years has given support to persecuted Christians in various regions of the world, including Africa”, the DECR chairman stated. He recalled that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia repeatedly urged “not to leave without attention the problems of Christians in African countries”. Metropolitan Hilarion pointed out that the work of the Moscow Patriarchate “concerns both the informational support of the persecuted Christians and projects for giving them humanitarian aid”. It is the task, in particular, of the International Working Group for defending the rights of believers fr om discrimination and xenophobia under the Russian Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. “The Moscow Patriarchate has given support to persecuted African Christians, maintaining contacts with Christian Churches of the continent, including its largest ones - the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches”, the hierarch said, “The work with them is carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the work of the bilateral Commission for Dialogue. Thus, in Ethiopia, the Moscow Patriarchate has given support to local Christians who found themselves in a grave situation as a result of the actions of extremist groups and the development of civic confrontation. In 2019-2020, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia personally came out in defense of Christians subjected to organized attacks in central and western Ethiopia. “His voice was heard and the country authorities gave attention to this problem”, the DECR chairman said. |
| Conference in Austria Devoted to 2nd Anniversary of Havana Meeting Between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill Source: DECR On February 12, 2018, the second anniversary of the Havana meeting between Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis of Rome, an international conference devoted to the situation of Christians in the Middle East took place in Vienna. Organized with the participation of the Catholic diocese of Austria, the forum took place at the Episcopal Palace of Vienna. Its co-organizers included the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations (DECR), the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christians Unity, the Russian Federation Ministry of Culture and the Russian embassy in Austria. The event was attended by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, DECR chairman; Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christians Unity; Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna; Metropolitan Ignatius of Paris (Orthodox Church of Antioch); Archbishop Antoniy of Vienna and Budapest, head of the Moscow Patriarchate office for institutions abroad; Metropolitan Issa Gurbus of Switzerland and Austria (Syriac Jacobite Church); Bishop Armash Nalbandian, head of the diocese of Damascus of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Exarchate of Echmiadzin); Bishop Joseph Mouawad (Maronite Church). Among the participants in the forum were Russian ambassador to Austria D. Lyublinsky; Archbishop Peter Stephen Zubriggen, Apostolic Nuncio in Austria; Archpriest Vladimir Tyschuk, rector of the St. Nicholas’s in Vienna; Protodeacon Victor Shilovsky, secretary of the diocese of Vienna and Austria; diocesan clergy; numerous representatives of the diplomatic corps, Orthodox and Catholic clergy, monastic communities, charitable organizations and laity. The delegation who accompanied Metropolitan Hilarion included Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeikin), pro-rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies; and I. Kashitsyn, DECR secretariat for interreligious relations. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with a delegation of religious figures and scholars from Iran DECR Communication Service, 22.02.2023. On February 22, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia received in audience at the Patriarchal Residence in St. Daniel Monastery a delegation of religious figures and scholars from Iran who have come to Russia for the 12 th session of the Joint Russian-Iranian Commission for Orthodoxy-Islam Dialogue, which completed its first day of work on February 21, 2023. Participating in the meeting from the Russian Orthodox Church were Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, co-chair of the Commission’s ecclesial part; Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Teheran and the St. Phillip Church in Ash Shriqah, UAE; Rev. Dimitry Safonov, DECR secretary for interreligious relations; Hieromonk Gregory (Matrusov), chairman of the Patriarchal Experts Council for Cooperation with the Islamic World. There was also M.R. Baranov, deputy director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From the Iranian side, there were Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad Mahdi Imanipour, chairman of the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication in Iran, co-chair of the Commission from the Iranian side; Mr Kazem Jalali, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation; Hojjat ul-Islam Mehdi Bakhtawar, representative of the Iranian Spiritual Leader in Moscow; Prof Fatima Tabatabai, University of Teheran, head of the Scientific Association of Islamic Learning in Iran; Mr. Masoud Ahmadvand, head of the Cultural Representation of Iran in Russia; Mr Hamid Hadawi, President of the Ibn Sina Islamic Cultural Research Foundation; Ms Zahra Rashid-Beigi, leader of the Islam-Orthodoxy dialogue group of the Islamic Culture and Communication Organization in Iran; and Mr Hossein Jahangiri, councillor, Iranian Embassy in Russia. |
| Archive Metropolitan Hilarion: US Secretary of State Pompeo cancelled the meeting an hour before it, under the pressure of ill-wishers 8 November 2019 year 10:46 Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, told the KP daily how he was received in Washington, how the church situation has changed under Zelensky and whether Russia needs building ‘three churches a day’. Under Zelensky the faithful have been able to sigh with relief – Your Eminence, you were the first in the Russian Orthodox Church to congratulate Vladimir Zelensky on his victory in the Ukrainian presidential election. Later you thanked him for his non-interference in the Church’s affairs. Have any positive movements been made with regard to the canonical Church oppressed there? If the Ukrainian schismatics wished ‘burning in hell’ to those who had voted for Zelensky, does it mean that he does not support them, at least tacitly? – President Zelensky stated in pubic that he would not support either side of today’s interreligious confrontation in Ukraine and that he would not interfere in church affairs. This very favourably compares him with his predecessor Mr. Poroshenko, who made ‘Ukraine’s obtaining autocephaly’, as it was described, a part of his pre-election campaign. The faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate could sign with relief because the campaign for capturing churches, which was carried out with the support of Poroshenko’s regime, has actually fizzled out today. The discriminatory laws introduced by Poroshenko have not been revoked as yet but there is a hope that under the new president, justice will be established in this respect as well. – Did the UOC primate, Metropolitan Onufry, tell you about his meetings with the new president? – He did not, but I know from other sources that these meetings are constructive. Why have the Greeks recognized the Ukrainian schismatics? – What has made the Orthodox Church of Greece recognize now the schismatic ‘Orthodox Church of Ukraine’? |
| Interreligious Working Group of the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations holds its 11th session Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On July 19, 2021, the Interreligious Working Group for Aid to the Syrian Population under the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations held its 11 th session in the building of the Presidential Administration. The meeting was attended by Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations (DECR) – the leader of the Interreligious Group: A. Vylegzhanin, deputy head of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate; A. Tretyakov, adviser, Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate; A. Terentyev, chief adviser of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate; S. Ryakhovsky, Lead Bishop of the Russian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals); Salih-Hazrat Ibragimov, imam-muhtasib of Nizhnekamsk and Nizhnekamsk Region in Tatarstan; Sh. Kadyrgulov, plenipotentiary of the Central Muslim Board in Moscow; Jean-Francois Thiry, representative of the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow (Roman Catholic Church) and leader of Pokrovsky Gates cultural center; Rev. A. Peterson, Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Russia; V. Neledva, head of the international relations department of the Muslim Spiritual Assembly in Russia; B. Protasevich, rector of Zaoksky University of the Seventh-day Adventists Church; A. Cherkezov, president of the Union for Promoting Traditional Religious Values “Christian World”, and Hierodeacon Peter (Akhmatkhamov), DECR. The meeting was opened by Hieromonk Stephan, who, speaking on behalf of the Working Group, congratulated A. Vylegzhanin on his appointment as deputy head of the Presidential Domestic Policy Directorate. A. Tretyakov made a report on the progress made in the preparation of the World Conference for Inter-Cultural and Interreligious Dialogue to take place in 2022 in Sankt-Petersburg and on the tasks facing the Interreligious Working Group in this connection. |
| Interreligious Working Group for Humanitarian Aid to Syrian Population Holds its 8th Meeting Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On June 27, 2019, with a blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), the Interreligious Working Group for Humanitarian Aid to the Syrian Population under the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations held its 8 th meeting at the DECR grand hall. The meeting was attended by Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations – the leader of the group; S. Melnikov, executive secretary of the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations; Hegumen Arseny (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East; Ildar-hazrat Ziganshin, member of the Central Muslim Board Presidium and imam-mutahsib of the Tyumen Region; Mufti Albir Krganov, chairman of the Moslem Assembly in Russia; Salih-Hazrat Ibragimov, Imam-mutahsib of the Nizhnekamsky region, Tatarstan; Rev. Igor Kowalewski, general secretary, Conference of the Catholic Bishops in Russia; K. V. Bendas, first deputy of the Presiding Bishop and chancellor of the Russian Union of Christians of the Evangelical Faith; O. Yu. Goncharov, first deputy head of the Euro-Asian Division of the General Conference of the Church of the Seventh-Day Adventists; Hieromonk Ermogen (Korchukov), executive secretary of the Interreligious Foundation for Promoting Joint Humanitarian Projects; Imam M. Nirsayanov, head of the international department of the Moslem Assembly in Russia; Ms. A. Ugleva, expert in external and international communications, Russian Union of the Christians of Evangelical faith (Pentecostals); Ms. M. Nelyubova and F. Champion, DECR. The meeting summed up the work the Working Group carried out in the first half of 2019. Special note was made of the trip made by the Interreligious Working Group delegation to Damascus on March 30-31, 2019. They handed over to Syrians in need another consignment of humanitarian aid consisting of one thousand boxes with high-quality basic foodstuff. |
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