| Награды Русской православной церкви: орден Святого благоверного князя Даниила Московского, орден Святого благоверного князя Дмитрия Донского, орден Святого Страстотерпца Царя Николая II Русской Православной Церкви за рубежом и орден Святого Царя Константина Сербской Православной Церкви. Входит в состав Научного совета при Совете Безопасности Российской Федерации, заместитель руководителя одной из секций совета. Член Научного совета при Министре иностранных дел РФ. Член Общественного совета Министерства обороны России. Президент некоммерческого благотворительного фонда «Наследие» («Русский Лемнос»). Женат, жена Ольга Николаевна Решетникова, кандидат исторических наук. Имеет двух взрослых дочерей и четырёх внуков. Контактный телефон: + 7 (495) 454-92-64 Электронный адрес: prime@riss.ru Leonid Petrovich Rechetnikov was born in 1947 in Potsdam, Germany. Graduated from the Faculty of History, Kharkov State University in 1970. Undertook postgraduate studies at Sofia University (Bulgaria). Defended doctoral thesis in 1974. Author of “Russian Lemnos” (1st edition, Moscow, 2009; 2nd edition, Moscow, 2010; 3rd edition, Moscow, 2012) and “Return to Russia. The Third Path, or the Dead Ends of Hopelessness” (Moscow, “FIV”, 2013) and various publications on Soviet-Bulgarian relations between 1917-1945, Russian emigration to Greece, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia after the Russian Civil War, and the contemporary political situation in the Balkans. Worked for the Institute of the World Socialist System from 1974 to 1976 and Foreign Intelligence from April 1976 to April 2009. Completed service as Lieutenant-General and Head of Analysis and Information Department, Foreign Intelligence Service, retiring compulsorily upon reaching the maximum age for military service. Appointed Director of Russian Institute of Strategic Studies on 29 April 2009 by Presidential Decree. Fluent in Russian, Serbian and Bulgarian. Received numerous awards and honors, including the Order of Courage and Order of Honour bestowed by the State, and the Order of Saint Daniel of Moscow and Order of St Dmitri Donskoy bestowed by the Russian Orthodox Church. |
| Archive Пн His Holiness Patriarch Kirill chairs regular session of the Holy Synod 29 October 2019 year 11:58 On October 29, 2019, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia chaired a regular session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church held at the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in Danilov Monastery in Moscow. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church opened the session and addressed the members of the Holy Synod, saying: ‘Your Eminences and Graces! Dear members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church! “Today we have to address a number of important personnel issues. Besides, I would like to inform you about my visits to the dioceses. Also, we ought to consider suggestions for including new names to the Synaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of the Russian Church. “You know that the 23th World Russian People’s Council took place in the period between sessions of the Synod, and I would like to share my impressions with you. Metropolitan Hilarion will report on his visit to the USA and our relations with the Malankara Church. Also, we will approve certain liturgical texts and consider a request of Metropolitan of Rostov and Novocherkassk to introduce a postgraduate course at the Rostov Theological seminary. Besides, we will make an appraisal of the monastic life and consider proposals pertaining to the monasteries’ life and work. Finally, the Patriarch will present his report on the institutions abroad. “This is our agenda, and I invoke God’s blessing upon all members of the Synod. Let us beseech the Almighty God Head of the Church to bestow blessings on our labours.” His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutitsy and Kolomna; Metropolitan Vladimir of Kishinev and All Moldova; Metropolitan Alexander of Astana and Kazakhstan, head of the metropolitan area in the Republic of Kazakhstan; Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan, head of the metropolitan area in Central Asia; Metropolitan Varsonofy of St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, and Metropolitan Savva of Tver and Kashin, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, are permanent members of the Holy Synod. |
| Russian President presents Metropolitan Hilarion with the Order of Alexander Nevsky Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On February 2, 2022, St.Catherine’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace hosted the ceremony of presenting the highest state awards to the outstanding Russian scientists, medical doctors, workers of art, and people of other works of life in recognition of their labour. While welcoming the participants in the ceremony, the head of the state underscored: “Each of you has your own destiny, your own ‘lifeline.’ However, what all of you have in common is your dedication to work for the good of your native land, society, and our citizens. Your achievements have opened up new horizons in various fields and continue to do so; they serve Russia’s contemporary development and make a great contribution to its successful future, setting an example of commitment, devotion to duty, sense of purpose, and ability to take difficult and often unconventional decisions.” Among those awarded was Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations and rector of Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies. He was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky “for great contribution to the development of international and inter-confessional relations.” In his address after receiving the high state award, Metropolitan Hilarion said: “Highly Esteemed Vladimir Vladimirovich! “I thank you that at the suggestion of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, you have honoured the leaders and some staff members of the Department for External Church Relations with high state awards. “Our department is sometimes called a ministry of foreign affairs, which is not absolutely correct, because we do not deal only with foreign affairs, but are also involved in maintaining inter-confessional relations in our country. And in recent years we have increasingly felt like a kind of defense agency, because we have to defend the sacred borders of our Church. |
| The document was signed by all the Churches, except representatives of the Churches of Antioch and Georgia. “As we know,” Metropolitan Hilarion said, “the Georgian Orthodox Church has fundamental objections to the document: a mention of a possibility to enter into marriages with non-Orthodox Christians and of a possibility to bless such marriages according to the principle of Oiconomia provokes sharp criticism in this Church.” The document “The Relations of the Orthodox Church with the Rest of the Christian World” was signed by all the Orthodox Churches at the Pre-Council Conference in 2015. However, after the Conference and the Synaxis had been held, the Holy Synod of the Georgian Orthodox Church, at its session on February 12, 2016, rejected this document, since there are some fundamental amendments and comments to it. Besides, the Working Procedures of the Council were not signed by the delegation of the Orthodox Church of Antioch. Metropolitan Hilarion asked Metropolitan Emmanuel of France how the Patriarchate of Constantinople will act with regard to the documents that had not been signed by all the Orthodox Churches. The representative of the Patriarchate of Constantinople noted that it was necessary to focus on the reasons why the documents had not been sighed by the Orthodox Church of Antioch and why they were disputed by the Georgian Orthodox Church. As Metropolitan Emmanuel said, it is necessary to pray and seek the solution to the problem existing in the relationships of the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem. As for the Georgian Church, he emphasized it was necessary to wait for the Georgian Church to make her comments in order to understand why she had rejected the document. Archpriest Nikolai Balashov thanked the high guest for his fraternal visit. “We attach great importance to the preparation of the Council in these few months left before it begins,” the DECR vice-chairman said, “It is my conviction that this period must be very eventful. We should exert every effort to intensify the contacts between the Local Orthodox Churches and communication in various spheres in order to feel the atmosphere and take into consideration various opinions and differences.” Code for blog Since you are here… …we do have a small request. |
| Archive Пн Lectures on Orthodox ecclesiology held in Belarusian Exarchate’s dioceses 20 March 2024 year 13:53 From 11th to 15th March 2024, Hegumen Dionisy (Shlenov), abbot of Saint Andrew’s Stavropegial Monastery in Moscow, professor and head of postgraduate studies at the Moscow Theological Academy, visited Belarus at the invitation of Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. The visit was undertaken with the view of giving lectures on theology and holding meetings as part of the theological and educational work carried out by the Belarusian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 2017, the Exarchate of Belarus launched advanced courses for its clergy at the Minsk Theological Academy and Seminary. Theological and educational meetings for the diocesan clergy also became a tradition. In the course of his visit, Hegumen Dionisy delivered a lecture entitled “In Defence of Conciliar Ecclesiology: Critical Review of the Theory of Primacy of the Patriarch of Constantinople” for the clergy of the Exarchate’s eastern dioceses – of Turov, Mogilev, Vitebsk, Polotsk and Molodechno. Previously, on 13th–19th November 2023, he already gave lectures on the same topic in several dioceses of southern and central Belarus. What is going on in the world of Orthodox Churches? What tenets describe and justify the conciliar ecclesiology that the Russian Orthodox Church is committed to and defends, and in what way is it different from the ecclesiology of primacy underlying the wrongful anti-canonical actions of the Patriarch of Constantinople and his representatives? What makes Constantinople’s primacy unacceptable from the viewpoint of theology and ecclesiastical canons? What do Patristic writings tell about primacy and conciliarity? Those were the questions Father Dionisy addressed in his lecture from the perspective of church history and canons. On 11th March, the lecture was held in the city of Mozyr, Turov diocese. Hegumen Dionisy began it by speaking about the Book of Faith. Its copy published in Grodno is now in the collection of the diocesan museum of the Gomel diocese. The Book of Faith was first published in Moscow in 1648 and republished in Grodno in 1785. Its Chapter 19 entitled “On the Thrones of Patriarchs…” explicitly formulates the conciliar ecclesiology based on the principles of equality between the Local Orthodox Churches. |
| Atheism, Not God, is Odd Where Do Atheists Come From? Editorial: Time to accept that atheism, not God, is odd. HERE " s a fact to flatter the unbelievers among you: the bright young things at the University of Oxford are among the most godless groups ever studied in the UK. Of 728 students surveyed in 2007, 48.9 per cent claimed not to believe in any god, with 49.6 per cent claiming no religious affiliation. And while a very small number of Britons typically label themselves as " atheist " or " agnostic " (most surveys put it at about 5 per cent), an astonishing 57.3 per cent of the Oxford sample did. This may come as no surprise. After all, atheism is the natural stance of the educated and the informed, is it not? It is only to be expected that Oxford students should be wise to what their own professor Richard Dawkins calls " self-indulgent, thought-denying skyhookery " - and others call " faith " . The old Enlightenment caricature, it seems, is true after all: where Reason reigns, God retires. Of course, things are never quite that simple. Within the sample, for instance, the postgraduates (that is, the even-better educated) were notably more religious than the undergraduates, in terms of both belief in God and self-description. Although the greater number of non-Europeans in the postgraduate population is almost certainly a significant factor here, evidence from elsewhere backs the idea that there is no straightforward relationship between atheism and education. Let " s look at some results from the World Values Survey, an international attempt to assess the global state of socio-cultural, moral, religious and political values. The 2005 results show that while there is a clear positive correlation between education and lack of belief in God, the effect is slightly weaker, not stronger, among those with a university education (14.8 per cent were non-believers) compared with those whose highest attainment was secondary level (17.2 per cent). What is more, the survey shows a far stronger correlation between education and certain " irrational " beliefs: for example, only 29.6 per cent of those without even an elementary education believe in telepathy, compared with 51.8 per cent of people with degree-level education. |
| 30 August 2023 year Statement in connection with the prohibition of access of teachers and students of Kiev Theological Schools to the territory of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra [Documents] 15 July 2023 year His Holiness Patriarch Kirill appeals to religious leaders and representatives of international organizations in view of the persecution of the father superior of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra 14 July 2023 year His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s statement on attempts to evict the faithful from Kiev Pechersk Lavra [Patriarch : Messages] News 20 March 2024 year 13:53 Lectures on Orthodox ecclesiology held in Belarusian Exarchate’s dioceses From 11th to 15th March, Hegumen Dionisy (Shlenov), abbot of Saint Andrew’s Stavropegial Monastery in Moscow, professor and head of postgraduate studies at the Moscow Theological Academy, visited Belarus at the invitation of Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. 18 March 2024 year 19:25 Archbishop Theodosios of Sebastia: The Orthodox Church is subjected to unprecedented persecution and violence in Ukraine Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia (Patriarchate of Jerusalem) issued an appeal to all Christian Churches of the world, noting the need for an immediate intervention and support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is being subjected to unprecedented persecution by government authorities in Kiev. 2 March 2024 year 19:42 Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia: the oppression to which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is subjected is unjust and cannot be justified or accepted in any form Archbishop Theodosius of Sebastia has said that " in the context of recent events, Jerusalem considers it offensive and sorrowful " that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is being persecuted and oppressed by state structures despite all appeals and pleas that have been made. 27 February 2024 year 22:34 The Serbian Patriarch pointed to the escalating intolerance of the Ukrainian authorities towards the Ukrainian Orthodox Church In response to the message of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus " in which His Holiness shared his alarm over the consideration in the first reading of the discriminatory draft bill No. |
| Archive Пн Russian President presents Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk with the Order of Alexander Nevsky 2 February 2022 year 17:31 On February 2, 2022, St.Catherine " s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace hosted the ceremony of presenting highest state awards to the outstanding Russian scientists, medical doctors, workers of art, and people of other works of life in recognition of the labour. While welcoming the participants in the ceremony, the head of the state underscored: “Each of you has your own destiny, your own ‘lifeline.’ However, what all of you have in common is your dedication to work for the good of your native land, society, and our citizens. Your achievements have opened up new horizons in various fields and continue to do so; they serve Russia’s contemporary development and make a great contribution to its successful future, setting an example of commitment, devotion to duty, sense of purpose, and ability to take difficult and often unconventional decisions.” Among those awarded was Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations and rector of Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies. He was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky “for great contribution to the development of international and inter-confessional relations.” In his address after receiving the high state award, Metropolitan Hilarion said: “Highly Esteemed Vladimir Vladimirovich! “I thank you that at the suggestion of His Holiness the Patriarch, you have honoured the leaders and some staff members of the Department for External Church Relations with high state awards. “Our department is sometimes called a ministry of foreign affairs, which is not absolutely correct, because we do not deal only with foreign affairs, but are also involved in maintaining inter-confessional relations in our country. And in recent years we have increasingly felt like a kind of defense agency, because we have to defend the sacred borders of our Church. |
| Archive International round table on Future of Christianity in the Middle East: Reality and Prognoses took place in Moscow 2 March 2018 year 12:23 On 1 March 2018, an international round table on the Future of Christianity in the Middle East: Reality and Prognoses took place in Moscow. The meeting was organized by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) and Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies. Among those who took part in the round table were Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, rector of Ss. Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute; Mr. Sergei Stepashin, IOPS chairman; Mr. Mikhail Bogdanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa; Mr. Mikhail Margelov, Vice-President of the Russian International Affairs Council; as well as representatives of foreign ethnic and religious communities; parliamentarians from the Middle East; and ambassadors of the Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanese Republic, State of Palestine, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Among those in attendance were also Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Bishop Demetri of Safita (Orthodox Church of Antioch); Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio to Russia; Mufti Albirkhazrat Krganov, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia; Mr. Vadim Kvyatkovsky, vice-chairman of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church; and Archpriest Dimitry Roschin of the Synodal Department for Church-Society and Media Relations. In his address, Mr. Sergei Stepashin, chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, said in particular: “Today the IOPS, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Orthodox Church, together with the Syrian brothers, are doing all they can to save not only Christians in the Middle East, especially in Syria, but the civilization as well. What was going on and is, regrettably, going on there, endangers the entire world and civilization. In my view, Syria has shown that Christians and representatives of other religions, for instance, Muslims, are working together. There is no interfaith conflict there. The war, the calamity, the terrorism that affect this region unite people, for whom the protection of peace and civilization is not merely a word, rhetoric, fashion, but a real and very serious problem. |
| Archive Пн DECR representative attends conference dedicated to Catholicos Nerses Shnorali 24 December 2023 year 19:56 On December 21, 2023, an academic conference was held at the Armenian church complex under the chairmanship of Archbishop Ezras Nersissian, head of the Armenian Apostolic Church Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan. The conference was dedicated to the personality and heritage of His Holiness Nerses IV Shnorhali the Gracious (c. 1100 - 1173), Catholicos of the Armenian Church, a prominent theologian, philosopher, hymnographer, poet and chronicler, a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and a strong advocate of its rapprochement with the Orthodox Church. The year 2023 marks the 850th anniversary of his blessed death. The conference, which was organized by the Center for Armenian Studies of the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan, has brought together theologians, philologists, art historians, and historians from Russia and Armenia. Protoarchimandrite Shahe Ananian, doctor of theology, head of the department for international relations and rector of the Gevorgian Theological Academy and Seminary of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, and hierodeacon Georgy (Ramazian), candidate of theology, lecturer at the department of church history of the Moscow Theological Academy, were the key speakers. Taking part in the conference with the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR) and at the invitation of the leadership of the Diocese of Russia and New Nakhichevan, was Mr. Sergei Alferov, a DECR staff member and a senior lecturer at the department of church practical disciplines of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies. In his address, he noted the considerable part played by Catholicos Nerses Shnorhali in fostering contacts between Armenian Christians and the Greek Orthodox world, which largely determined the particularly close relationship of trust that has taken shape in after years between the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Moscow Patriarchate. |
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