| 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 The discriminatory laws introduced by Poroshenko have not been revoked as yet but there is a hope that under the new president, justice will be established in this respect as well.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’? |
| 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. |
| Metropolitan Hilarion on the Institution of the Family and the Civic Conflict in Ukraine Source: DECR Metropolitan Hilarion’s Interview to Vatican Radio Answering questions from the interviewer, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, attending the plenary session of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Catholic Bishops as representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, spoke on the Christian understanding of the institution of the family and the stand taken by the Russian Orthodox Church with regard to the civic conflict in Ukraine. – Your Eminence, please tell us which practices of the Orthodox Church with regard to the family and marriage can be adopted by the Catholic Church? – I think, in the first place, it is necessary to renounce the rigorist approach. We have common church rules and a common understanding of marriage: marriage is the union of man and women, and it should be one and the only. At the same time however, in practice there is a great deal of situations where this doctrine is not observed for various reasons. Then the problem moves from doctrinal to pastoral plane, in which the Orthodox Church has accumulated a certain experience, first of all, sometimes using the principle of akriveia – the strict adherence to the rules and sometimes the principle of oikonomia – condescension for human weakness. In the discussions I have heard here today, the question was raised whether divorced spouses may be allowed to take Holy Communion and to make Confession. It seems to me that this question should be subjected to a thorough study, and we are ready to present our pastoral experience to our Catholic brothers. I think, it is absolutely inadmissible to replace the Sacrament of Holy Communion with what some speakers have called “spiritual communion”, for it cannot be a substitute at all. And here we have a great space for cooperation and exchange of opinions. – After the week of the Synod’s meetings a so-called “post-debate report” has come out to provoke mixed reactions here. Is there anything confusing for you personally in it? |
| Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral), the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, discussed the actions of Constantinople, Church schisms, enduring persecution and ties with Ukraine, and answered questions on what can unite believers today, what challenges mankind faces, and other questions. – Vladyka, how are the actions of the Constantinople Patriarch in receiving schismatics and claiming power over the whole Church viewed from abroad? – We are very sad and bewildered as we observe the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, in which we sense the influence of the powers that be in this world, and a dismissive attitude towards the truth of Orthodox Christianity in the land of Ukraine, which is holy for us. Astonishing, too, is the complete absence of a pastoral approach to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry of Kiev and All Ukraine. For by “legalizing” schismatics and trying in every way to obtain their recognition by the Local Orthodox Churches, Patriarch Bartholomew in fact expels not only the overwhelming majority of our brother archpastors, clergy, monastics and laypersons of Ukraine who are dedicated to the Holy Church, but all of us as well. It is unclear why Patriarch Bartholomew and his Holy Synod hastened to make such a rash decision, without the counsel of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Orthodox Churches. The decision to rescind a three-hundred-year-old document, and efforts to justify their intrusion into the territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church appear at minimum clumsy and irresponsible. Still, we try to pray for them and those around them, that the Lord may grant them wisdom, illuminate and have mercy upon them, even as we beseech Heavenly aid to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onouphry and the entire Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the sole canonical Church of Christ on the Ukrainian territory. |
| 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 Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people On 27 th September 2020, feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” Icon of the Mother of God in Bolshaya Ordynka Street in Moscow. Concelebrating with the archpastor were clerics of the church. During the Litany of Fervent Supplication, prayerful petitions were offered for the deliverance from the coronavirus infection. After the Litany of Fervent Supplication, Metropolitan Hilarion lifted up the prayer which is read at a time of harmful pestilence. After the Liturgy, the prayer service of the Veneration of the Cross was conducted. It was followed by a homily, in which the archpastor said: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. “Dear Fathers, dear brothers and sisters, “Today we are celebrating the feast of the Elevation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord. This feast was set in honour of the events that had occurred in the 4th century when, by a decision of Emperor Constantine the Great, the city of Jerusalem had been turned into the largest Christian pilgrimage centre. “Prior to that, on the site of the ancient Jerusalem destroyed by the Romans, for three centuries there existed a city called Aelia Capitolina. It was a pagan city with no landmarks which could remind people about the Lord Jesus Christ, His disciples or the ancient Kingdom of Israel. But when Christianity, thanks to Emperor Constantine, Equal-to-the-Apostles, came out of the catacombs and received the actual status of the Roman Empire’s official religion, people remembered about both the Christian shrines and the holy city of Jerusalem. |
| 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 DECR chairman attends conference on World Orthodoxy: Primacy and Conciliarity in Light of Orthodox Teaching On September 16, 2021, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, took part in the conference held by the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission on the theme “World Orthodoxy: Primacy and Conciliarity in the Light of the Orthodox Teaching”, which took place at the St. Sergius Hall of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The conference is attended by members of the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission, representatives of the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, university faculty, hierarchs and clergy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and guests from Local Orthodox Churches. Presenting his paper, Metropolitan Hilarion stressed in particular that the Orthodox teaching speaks about the unity and oneness of the Church proceeding from the Gospel and makes this characteristic the first in the rank of her properties. “Any threat to the unity of the Church is a threat to the Body of Christ, in which believers are united by one faith, the Eucharist and her Head - Jesus Christ”, the DECR chairman noted, “Precisely for this reason, the most tragic events in the history of the Church are schisms in which Christ-commanded unity is violated, the unanimous life in faith is lost, the union around the Eucharistic Cup ends, the apostolic succession in the hierarchy is upset, and a deep wound appears in the Body of Christ”. According to the hierarch, in the history of the Church there is a great deal of examples of how actions of her particular members led to tragic divisions with their consequences felt to this day. “These pages of church history could serve as a lesson and a warning against such actions in the present and the future. However, up to this day the unity of Orthodoxy is threatened not only from outside but also from inside, coming from those who seek to act contrary to the Orthodox teaching and canonical tradition. We can see such actions today taken by the Patriarchate of Constantinople”, Metropolitan Hilarion stated. |
| 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 Metropolitan Hilarion: Constantinople is no longer the leader of the world Orthodoxy Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, gave an interview to TASS news agency. - Your Eminence, the other day the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church made a decision to discontinue the Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. How will his decision affect church life in our country and the life of the world Orthodoxy as a whole? - The daily church life of parishioners of churches in Russia will not be affected in any way: divine service are celebrated, people make confession and take communion and live a full-flegded church life. As for the situation in the world Orthodoxy, the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to recognize the schismatics in Ukraine, to invade somebody else’s canonical territory and to state its right to cancel decisions made by other Churches have completely changed the pattern of cooperation which took shape in the 20 th century. The Patriarch of Constantinople, who has positioned himself as the coordinator of common Orthodox activity, can no longer be such a coordinator for an obvious reason. He has self-distructed as the coordinating center for canonical Churches by having opted for schismatics and having fully associated himself with them. - Have any alternative responses been considered to the essentially non-canonical decisions of Constantinople? - I would like to draw your attention to the fact that, though Constantinople used to make unfriendly steps towards the Moscow Patriarchate for quite a long time, to which we had to react, at each stage we would still leave an opportunity for them to think twice and review their decisions. However, the decisions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople Synod published on October 11, which ‘revoked’ the decision adopted over 300 years ago to transfer the Metropolis of Kiev to the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate, admitted to communion the leaders of the schism in Ukraine and stated its readiness to realize the project for ‘Ukrainian autocephaly’, regrettably has not left us with any arguments against a breakup of 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 Metropolitan Hilarion: Middle East and Ukraine – parts of the same strategy The causes of the wide spread of radical Islamist ideologies and ways of solving the problem; the military conflicts in the Middle East as related to the escalation of violence in Ukraine; the fate of the kidnapped Metropolitans of Syria are subjects of the interview given to RIA-Novosti by the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. - How would you describe the increasing spread of radical Islamist ideologies and violence towards people of other religions in the Middle East? What does it all lead to? And who profits? - The recent growth of extremism under religious slogansis a serious challenge to the entire world community. The destabilization in the Middle East is a consequence of not only the civic confrontation but also of the fact that leading world powers have their own political and economic interests in that region. Some countries stir up inter-confessional strife there, which leads to grievous consequences for the region. When killers, kidnappers and extremists are supplied with arms it is impossible to justify it by any far-reaching political purposes. The destabilization of the entire Middle East, encouraged from outside, has led to the fact that Christians in several countries are facing the threat of full elimination. We are especially concerned by the fact that as a result of this confrontation, Christians are leaving the Middle East en masse and the scale of this exodus is growing every month. Being native people of the region, Christians have to flee their home on pain of death. And even in refugee camps they cannot feel safe in the face of discrimination, threats and kidnappings. The situation in Egypt has shown that when power is taken by those who sternly and resolutely oppose radicals the situation of Christians improves. In a recent interview given by Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria to your news agency, he said that the situation of Christians in Egypt stabilized thanks to the policy adopted by the new President of the country Abdel Fattah Sisi. |
| 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 Metropolitan Hilarion: Patriarch of Constantinople claims power over history itself The chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, has given an interview to the Serbian Politika daily. - How will you comment the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate Synod decision of October 12? Who will now act as the coordinating center for Local Orthodox Churches, considering that, as you have said, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has lost this right due to its recent decisions? Who could, for instance, convene a Pan-Orthodox Council and chair it? - The recent decisions of the Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople constitute a gross violation of canon law. Their aim is to legalize the schismatics and invade the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate. The response the Holy Synod of our Church gave on October 15 only reflected the reality that has set in after Constantinople’s actions. Having entered into communion with schismatics, it itself has departed into a schism. We had to resort to a break with the Church of Constantinople with deep sorrow, obeying to holy canons. The Patriarch of Constantinople, who for centuries has occupied the place of the first among the equals, among the Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, now claims to become ‘the first without the equals’ – an arbiter who believes to have a right to interfere in the internal affairs of Local Orthodox Churches by unilaterally regulating the application of any canonical norm in them. He claims the power over history itself by revoking decisions made over three centuries ago. If this new concept of primacy in the Church is to be believed, none of church resolutions is now firm and unchangeable – at any moment it can be unilaterally canceled on the basis of political profit or other interests. |
| 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 Metropolitan Hilarion: The fact that the Patriarchate of Constantinople has recognized a schismatic structure means for us that it itself is now in schism On October 17, 2018, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations gave an interview to the BBC Russian Service on the situation that has developed in connection with the anti-canonical actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the decision of the Russian Orthodox Church to break off the Eucharistic communion with it. - On October 16, the session of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church lasted for about eight hours. Why so long? What did the Synod discuss? - It needs to be clarified that the session of the Synod began with some delay, which was caused by the preceding meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with President of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko. Usually, such meetings last for about an hour but yesterday the talk lasted two hours. Accordingly, the whole schedule shifted. However, the sessions of the Holy Synod, as a rule, last seven or eight hours because many issues tend to accumulate in the period between sessions. It is the election of a new hierarch and opening of monasteries, and various personnel matters. But we certainly devoted a considerable part of the time to the topic of relationships with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It took about two or three hours to edit the texts of the Statement of the Holy Synod, which was issued on October 16. - That is to say, you had a draft of this statement? - There was a draft. - So, before the beginning of the session of the Synod it was already known that a breakoff is inevitable? - It is impossible to guess beforehand how the discussion at the Synod would go. A draft text was prepared beforehand, in which canonical arguments had been collected and set forth as their meaning remains unchangeable regardless of whatever final decision on the rupture of the Eucharistic communion with the Patriarchate of Constantinople may become. |
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