Home page News
Patriarch Kirill receives delegation of the Patria…

Patriarch Kirill receives delegation of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem

[gallery]
On March 14, 2012, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with a delegation of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem at the Patriarchal chambers of the Church of Christ the Saviour. The delegation included Archbishop Aristarchos of Constantina, Archbishop Theophylaktos of Jordan and Archimandrite Stephanos (Dispirakis), representative of the Patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. Participating in the meeting were also Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, a DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, and Fr. Stephan (Igumnov), a DECR staff member.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church welcomed the guests, ‘envoys of the Mother of all the Churches of God – the Church of Zion, the Church of the Holy City of Jerusalem’.

Patriarch Kirill expressed solidarity with Christians in the Middle East, saying, ‘As a result of the destabilized political situation in the Middle East, scores of thousands of Christians have come to face a threat to their lives. These political developments have provoked an outflow of Christians from Middle East countries, and we look with great concern at these developments. We are grieved and disturbed by the reduction of the Christian population in the biblical region, including under the impact of the present political events. The Patriarchate of Jerusalem bears a special responsibility for the preservation of holy places and churches and for the preservation of the Orthodox faith in the Middle East. Please convey my words of support to His Beatitude Theophilos, Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine’.

His Holiness shared remembrances of his first visit to the Holy Land in 1969. ‘I remember very well my first visit to the Church of the Resurrection and my prayer at the Lord’s Sepulchre and the talk I had after the liturgy with Father Daniel, who was a guardian of the Lord’s Sepulchre at that time. At that time, the very coming of a Moscow Patriarchate group to Palestine was an event both for the Church of Russia and the Church of Jerusalem. Father Daniel, who was to become a bishop, recalled stories about Russian pilgrims who used to crowd the Holy Land in the pre-revolutionary time’, he said.

According to Patriarch Kirill, pilgrimage is thriving today, including from the countries belonging to the canonical jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. ‘Again the number of pilgrims from Holy Rus amounts to tens and hundreds of thousands. Hundreds of thousands of our people, when in the Holy Land, learn the spiritual experience and share in the liturgical life of the Church of Jerusalem, thus becoming her children during their stay there. I believe it is the greatest achievement of our bilateral relations in the last years’, he stressed.

Patriarch Kirill also underscored that he attached a great importance to the work of the Moscow representation of the Church of Jerusalem and the Russian Orthodox Mission in Jerusalem, which maintain spiritual ties between the two Churches and represent their traditions in the canonical territory of the sister Church.

The head of the delegation Archbishop Aristarchos conveyed to Patriarch Kirill best wishes from Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem and All Palestine and from the Patriarchate of Jerusalem Holy Synod. ‘We convey to you the grace and blessing of the Holy Sepulchre of the Lord and the Bethlehem cave in which our Lord Jesus Christ was born in flesh’, he said.

Archbishop Aristarchos also thanked the Patriarch for the opportunity to worship at the grand service held on the occasion of his episcopal consecration and pointed to the importance of the talk he had that day with Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk during which they discussed bilateral relations between the Patriarchates of Jerusalem and Moscow.

DECR Communication Service

Share:
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends condolences following the explosion at Iranian port of Bandar Abbas

27.04.2025

Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches сelebrate Liturgy at Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

25.04.2025

Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin

23.04.2025

A meeting of the Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches has taken place

22.04.2025

Сondolences of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the passing of Pope Francis

21.04.2025

His Holiness Patriarch celebrates Paschal vespers on Easter Sunday at Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

20.04.2025

Paschal Message by Patriarch KIRILL of Moscow and All Russia

19.04.2025

On Good Friday the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Vespers with the Procession of the Burial Sheet of the Saviour at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

18.04.2025

On Thursday of Holy Week the Primate of the Russian Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy and Office for the Consecration of Myrrh at Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

17.04.2025

Patriarch Kirill addresses Primates of Local Orthodox Churches, Christian Leaders, Heads of State, and International organizations regarding law banning the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church

11.04.2025

Primate of the Russian Church leads celebrations in Donskoy Monastery marking the centenary of Patriarch Tikhon’s demise

06.04.2025

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends congratulations to Archbishop Joani of Tirana and All Albania on his enthronement

29.03.2025

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends condolences over devastating earthquake in Myanmar and Thailand

28.03.2025

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends congratulations to Archbishop Joani of Tirana and All Albania on his election as Primate of Albanian Orthodox Church

16.03.2025

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill sends letter to His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Antioch concerning tragic developments in Syria

11.03.2025

Metropolitan Antony of Volokolamsk celebrates Divine Liturgy at the church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome

27.04.2025

DECR Chairman attended the funeral of Pope Francis

26.04.2025

DECR Chairman attends farewell ceremony for Pope Francis

25.04.2025

DECR Chairman meets with Russian Ambassador to Italy

25.04.2025

DECR Chairman begins his visit to Italy and the Vatican

24.04.2025

First Hierarch of the Serbian Church visits Donskoy Monastery in Moscow

23.04.2025

His Holiness Serbian Patriarch Porfirije visits Serbian Metochion in Moscow

23.04.2025

Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin

23.04.2025

DECR Chairman attends a meeting of the Russia-Islamic World Strategic Vision Group

22.04.2025

A meeting of the Primates of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches has taken place

22.04.2025

Delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church arrives in Moscow headed by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia

21.04.2025

DECR Chairman expresses condolences on the passing of Pope Francis

21.04.2025

His Holiness Patriarch celebrates Paschal vespers on Easter Sunday at Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

20.04.2025

On Good Friday the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Vespers with the Procession of the Burial Sheet of the Saviour at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow.

18.04.2025

On Thursday of Holy Week the Primate of the Russian Church celebrated the Divine Liturgy and Office for the Consecration of Myrrh at Christ the Saviour Cathedral.

17.04.2025

Metropolitan Hilarion: Many things in a person's life depend on faith

29.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Spirit is the main treasure of the Christian soul

01.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ

27.06.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: God does not want to condemn, but to save us

07.03.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord always grants to us the opportunity to display our talents

24.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord has imbued the waters of Jordan with his divine presence to wash away human sins

19.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: to repent means to change your way of life

17.01.2021

On commemoration day of St. Catherine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk officiated at the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr In-the-Fields  the representation of the Orthodox Church in America

07.12.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We can always show compassion for people

29.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates on commemoration day of St. Varlaam of Khutyn at the church of ‘Joy to All the Afflicted’ icon of the Mother of God

19.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We should remember that the life of each human being is in the hands of God

06.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: For God there is nothing impossible

25.10.2020

Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people

27.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Eucharist is the wedding feast, to which Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us

13.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Faith alone is not enough for salvation

30.08.2020

Page is available in the following languages
Feedback

Fields marked by * are mandatory required

Send a message
Рус Укр Eng Deu Ελλ Fra Ita Бълг ქარ Срп Rom عرب