| His Holiness Patriarch Kirill says: “Missionary Work Should be at the Top of the Agenda for the Russian Orthodox Church” Source: Patriarchia.ru Opening a regular meeting of the Higher Church Committee on September 19, 2014, His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, pointed out the importance of encouraging the missionary work of the Russian Orthodox Church in the regions. “My last trip to the Far East has once again provided me with a lot of thought-provoking material on the condition of our missionary work and its top-priority for the Russian Orthodox Church,” the Patriarch stated. Speaking about his trip, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church mentioned that the development of Orthodox mission in the Far East was difficult in the pre-Revolutionary period due to objective reasons. Besides, some regions of the Far East became parts of Russia only in the middle of the nineteenth century. That is why the construction of churches and monasteries was not as fast as in other regions. “And then these churches and monasteries, the number of which had already been low, were completely destroyed after the Revolution,” His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill, said. The Patriarch pointed out that in the Far East religious life suffered the most in the whole country. For example, to the east of Irkutsk there were only one church in Vladivostok and a little parish in Yakutsk for many years. “In other words, people lived without any spiritual enlightenment and teaching of the faith,” the Patriarch added. Although new possibilities appeared and the restoration of churches, monasteries, and theological schools began in the 1990s, the main effort was put into the rebirth of the Orthodox Christianity in the capital and regions in the west and central parts of Russia. Despite the spiritual isolation, the religious institutions in the Far East have strengthened. “All these institutions had strong support from abroad and they had sufficient opportunities,” Patriarch Kirill stated. “Comfortable and modern religious buildings started to appear, but there were still no Orthodox churches.” |
| Is the US Selling Out the Middle East’s Christians? Elizabeth Prodromou, a former Vice Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, has some harsh words for the commission’s annual report, issued last month. Prodromou sharply criticizes USCIRF and the entire U.S. foreign policy team for ignoring human rights violations endured by Orthodox Christians in the Middle East. For example, Prodromou complains that neither the U.S. administration nor USCIRF (an independent agency) has issued a statement about the kidnapping in Syria last month, most likely by Islamists in the opposition, of two Orthodox bishops. The kidnapping of two bishops sends an ominous message to Syria’s Christians, and Prodromou is outraged that the U.S. did not see fit to introduce a Security Council resolution condemning the kidnapping. Russia, she notes, did introduce such a resolution. I share Prodromou’s outrage about what is happening to Christians in Syria, most of whom are Orthodox, and her frustration at the West’s lack of attention to the problem. (This lack of attention is nothing new; the last U.S. administration seemed more or less indifferent to the plight of Iraq’s Christians). But I’m not sure that official American statements would help the situation. Perversely, official expressions of concern from the outside often increase the danger for Christians in the Middle East. When Pope Benedict spoke about the obvious mistreatment of Copts a while ago, for example, Egypt withdrew its Vatican ambassador in protest. Things have not improved for the Copts since. Moreover, it’s not plain how much credibility U.S. government statements have in Syria at the moment. The U.S. has worked itself into a situation in which neither of the major players in the conflict, neither Assad nor the Islamists who dominate the opposition, have an incentive to listen to what the U.S. says. I’m not suggesting the U.S. and the West should ignore the plight of Syria’s Christians and leave them to their fate; not at all. I mean only that official statements, without the wherewithal to back them up, do little, and often backfire. |
| 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 of Volokolamsk celebrates liturgy at Church of Antioch’s Moscow Representation on its patron saint’s day On July 26, 2020, the Day of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, visited the Moscow Representation of the Orthodox Church of Antioch to greet its rector and parishioner on their patron saint’s day. During the Divine Liturgy, which Metropolitan Hilarion celebrated together with the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, at the church of the Holy Archangel Gabriel, the archpastors were assisted by Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman, and the representation clergy. After the liturgy, a thanksgiving to the Holy Archangel Gabriel was celebrated in the open in the churchyard. Addressing the worshippers, Metropolitan Hilarion conveyed them a greeting and blessing from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The head of the Department for External Church Relations said in particular: ‘You know how keenly His Holiness feels for the grief and suffering of Christians in the Middle East, including in the blessed biblical lands of Lebanon and Syria. In all that is going on today in these sacred lands we see God’s connivance and realize that the Lord will demand an accounting of how we responded to these challenges of time, to the prosecution against Christians, which the enemies of the truth of Christ have launched. The Russian Orthodox Church has always been and will be with the Orthodox Church of Antioch, and the Russian people have always been and will always be with the peoples of Syria, Lebanon and all the Christians of the Middle East. We will continue all that is possible for us to relieve the suffering of Christians who are subjected today to persecutions and genocide in countries of the Middle East. |
| 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 plight of Christians in many countries of the world is tragic Persecution and even extermination of Christians in a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as discrimination of the believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were the main topics addressed to by Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C. Speaking at the request of “The Church and the World” TV programme’s host Ekaterina Gracheva about this summit that took place in the capital of the United States on July 13-15, 2021, His Eminence said, among other things: “The United States is a diverse country. Despite the anti-Russian propaganda of many years, there are many people there who are very sympathetic both to our country in general, and to the Russian Orthodox Church in particular; they are willing to listen to us. This event was carried out by the Open Doors organization which is following through their studies the situation in different countries with regard to the persecution of religious groups.” The DECR chairman stated that in the recent years the Christians in a number of countries of the Middle East and Africa have been afflicted with tragic developments. “This is Iraq where under Saddam Hussein the Christian population was one million and a half, but now has one tenth of that number at best. This is also Libya with practically no Christians left; and this is Syria, which many Christians had to flee, forced in most cases not by the war, but by terrorist actions: in areas under their rule, terrorists systematically persecuted and even massacred Christian population,” reminded Metropolitan Hilarion, and underscored that the tragic statistics was witnessing a rapidly dropping number of Christians throughout the Middle East. Even in relatively safe and well-to-do countries, such as Lebanon, the number of Christians is decreasing, whereas not so long ago they used to account for 50% of the country’s population. |
| A new clash of world powers should be prevented at all costs, Russian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill said in an exclusive interview with RT America’s Ed Schultz, stressing that both Russia and the US must do “everything possible” to improve relations. © Ian Sbalcio/RT America Speaking to Schulz, Patriarch Kirill warned that a confrontation between “two major powers” with “immense destructive force” had the potential to devastate “the whole world,” calling for an improvement in relations between Russia and the United States as soon as possible. “A large-scale war should be averted at all costs,” he said, adding that it should be the “number one priority for the Americans, the Russians, and many other people with a sensible perspective on what is happening.” The Patriarch stressed that most people in the US are “Christians who share the same values and belong to the same global Christian family” as Russians, urging the two nations to use this cultural affinity “to build bridges, rather than deepen the divide” between the two countries. In talking about potential initiatives for improving relations between the two states, Patriarch Kirill offered an example from the Cold War era, when US and Soviet Christians worked together “for a better future.” “We had intensive contacts with the US Christian community, including delegation visits and conferences in an effort to work out a concerted Christian approach to the issues that divided the US and the Soviet Union,” he said, calling on the Christian communities of both countries to continue such efforts. Situation in the Middle East ‘requires joint action’ Addressing the crisis in the Middle East, the Patriarch called on all countries seeking to put an end to the wars in Syria and Iraq, as well as to defeat terrorist groups, “to join their efforts for the sake of [this] goal.” According to the Patriarch, the current situation in the Middle East requires joint action by all parties concerned, including “Russia, the United States, Western Europe, and some Arab countries.” |
| Christians are currently facing unprecedented persecution in the Middle East. MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russia remains the only consistent advocate of Christians in the Middle East, where “Christian communities are being exposed to genuine genocide,” Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said in an interview with RIA Novosti Tuesday. “Western countries, which were helping Christians in the region for centuries, have denied them support and almost officially recommended them to leave the region and move to other countries,” said Hilarion, who oversees the Russian Orthodox Church’s external relations. “I was told this by, for example, Maronites [members of one of the Syriac Eastern Catholic Churches] who have been living in Syria and Lebanon for centuries. They were disappointed by France, which had been traditionally supporting them but is refusing to defend them now. Our country has remained the sole defender of the Christian presence in the region. Many Christians remaining in flashpoints are relying on [Russia],” he said. Christians are currently facing unprecedented persecution in the Middle East, he stressed. “Christian communities in some countries are being exposed to genuine genocide” because of the spread of terrorism and extremism on religious grounds, Metropolitan Hilarion said. “[The Russian Orthodox Church] on a regular basis receives reports on the destruction and desecration of Christian churches, kidnapping of clerics, beheading of Christians, mass graves of killed Christians being found, exiles of Christian families from their homes …, shelling of Christian residential areas,” he said. Extremists aim to completely expel Christians from their places of residence by means of terror or physical destruction, the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church said. Developed countries have to use political instruments for resolve this crisis, Hilarion added. Three years have passed since the European Parliament signed a resolution titled the “Situation of Christians in the Context of Freedom of Religion,” but a mechanism for monitoring compliance of freedom of conscience in the world was not created, the Hilarion said. |
| Metropolitan Hilarion: Christians Are in a Tragic Situation in a Number of Countries Source: DECR (Russian) Photo: mospat.ru In his speech at the International Summit on Religious Freedom in Washington, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, talked on the persecution and even physical destruction of Christians in a number of countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as on the discrimination against believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Speaking about the summit in the Church and the World program, the archpastor noted: “The United States of America is a very diverse country. Despite the anti-Russian propaganda that has been going on there for many years, there are many people in the United States who have a great liking to both our country and the Russian Orthodox Church. They are ready and happy to listen to us. The event was organized by Open Doors, which is researching the situation in different countries related to the oppression of certain religious groups.” The DECR chairman stated that in recent years a tragic situation has developed for Christians in a number of countries in the Middle East region and Africa. “For example, this is Iraq, where there used to be one and a half million Christians under the government of Saddam Hussein, and now there is only one tenth of that number, at best. This is Libya, where there are practically no Christians left. This is Syria, which many Christians were forced to leave, and not so much because of the war, but as a result of the actions of terrorists: they systematically persecuted and even massacred the Christian population, where they were in power,” said Metropolitan Hilarion, stressing that tragic statistics indicate that the number of Christians throughout the Middle East is rapidly declining. Even in relatively prosperous countries such as Lebanon, Christians are becoming less and less numerous, although until recently they made up about 50 percent of the population. |
| Thessaloniki, July 5, Interfax - Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin has called on the parliaments of Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy member countries to include the issue of protecting Christians under persecution in the Middle East in the international agenda. Sergey Naryshkin “Today Christians find themselves subject to severe persecution and even lose their lives for their faith in different places on the planet, primarily in the Middle East. We, representatives of our countries’ legislatures, are bound to take measures to protect them by all means available and persistently place these problems on the international agenda,” Naryshkin said at the opening of the 23rd General Assembly of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. MPs should discuss both ways to help refugees and the reasons behind the current events, he said. “In other words, [they should discuss] the irresponsible policy of a number of Western countries, which, acting under the pretext of the fight against regimes that are undesirable to them, destroy the very statehood of whole peoples and provoke chaos and lawlessness across vast territories,” he said. “And certainly it is necessary to jointly counter terrorists – these barbarians of the third millennium, who savagely eliminate people and monuments of world culture, at the same time covering the evil perpetrated by them by one of the most ancient religious, Islam, which certainly has nothing to do with terrorism,” Naryshkin said. Terrorist gangs’ recruiters are playing on the basest feelings and passions, “and it is easier for them to find their prey in the dysfunctional environment, where young people are doomed to illiteracy and a shortage of cultural upbringing,” he said. Parliaments ought to double their efforts in cracking down on this and seek to raise people’s standards of living in order to minimize conditions for terrorist threat growth, Naryshkin said. Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong. |
| Archive DECR Chairman presided over round-table conference on cooperation between Russian Church and compatriots living in countries of Middle East and Africa 28 November 2019 year 15:06 On 27 November 2019, a round-table conference took place on Russian Orthodox Church and Compatriots: An Experience of Cooperation in Middle Eastern and African Countries, at the Russian Cultural Center in Budapest. With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, its work was presided over by the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. It was attended by a Moscow church delegation including Metropolitan Anthony of Chersonesus and Western Europe, head of the Moscow Patriarchate office for institutions abroad; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Archpriest Sergiy Zvonarev, DECR secretary for the far abroad; Hieromonk Kirill (Peregudin) and Rev. Andrey Titushkin, staff members of the DECR secretariat for the far abroad; Deacon Sergiy Kalashnikov, leading specialist of the Moscow Patriarchate office for the institutions abroad; and Rev. V. Li, sub-deacon to the DECR chairman. The meeting also gathered the Russian Church clergy responsible for pastoral care of the Russian-speaking flock in Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and South Africa. The round table was organized by the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the DECR with the support of the Russian Ministry of Culture and the Russian World foundation. Such events have been held for ten years now, gathering together clergy and representatives of compatriots’ organizations from various parts of the world. Earlier, such meeting took place in Brussels, Buenos Aires, Beijing, San Francisco, Johannesburg, Rome, Berlin, Rabat and Seoul. Before the beginning of the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion said a prayer for the beginning of any good work in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Budapest. Among the worshippers were Metropolitan Anthony, other participants in the round table from among the clergy and Orthodox believers in Budapest. |
| 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 Syria’s Minister of Awqaf On 7 March 2017, at the Patriarchal residence in St Daniel’s Monastery, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with Dr. Mohammed Abdul Sattar al-Sayeed, Minister of Awqaf of the Syrian Arab Republic. Dr. al-Sayeed was accompanied by Sheikh Ahmad Samir al-Kabbani, Director General of Awqaf in the city of Damascus, and Sheikh Abdullah al-Sayyed, Director of Religious Youth Movement of Syria. Among those present at the meeting were also H.E. Mr. Riyad Haddad, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Syrian Arab Republic to the Russian Federation; Metropolitan Niphon of Philipopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), vice-chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; and Rev. Dimitry Safonov, DECR Secretary for Interreligious Relations and Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia. Greeting the guest, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill reminded him about their meeting in Damascus in November 2011, that took place during the visit of the Primate of the Russian Church to the Patriarchate of Antioch. As His Holiness noted, since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, the Russian Church has been speaking at various international levels, emphasizing the right of peoples to live independently and to determine their future without any outside interference. “I personally, as well as our representatives to various international organization have been actively raising our voice in defense of the legal rights of the Syrian people who are suffering from the manifestations of global terrorism inspired by the forces outside of Syria,” Patriarch Kirill said. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church repeatedly raised the Syrian issue during his meetings with heads of foreign states and with the Russian authorities. For instance, in 2013 the Primates and representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches who had come to Moscow for the celebrations of the 1025 th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, met with the President of the Russian Federation at the Kremlin to discuss, first of all, the Syrian crisis and the situation of Christians in the Middle East. “Representatives of all Local Orthodox Churches applied to the President of our country, asking Russia to exert every effort to stop the unjust war in the Middle East,” His Holiness noted. |
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