Department for External Church Relations
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DECR vice-chairman meets with Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Head of Team Europe/North America
Hegumen Philip Riabykh, vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, met on 15 April 2010 with Mr. Jens Paulus, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Team Europe/North America, the recent appointee to this post. Taking part in the meeting were also Dr. Lars Peter Schmidt, head of the Foundation’s Moscow office, and V. Matiyashin of the DECR staff.
It is the first visit of Mr. Jens Paulus to Moscow. Its aim is to come to grips with the Russian line in the work of the Foundation.
Father Philip pointed to the constructiveness of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Foundation. He referred in particular to the conference on Teaching Religion in Public School: Topical Discussion in Russia and Germany, which took place on 24-25 February 2010 at the RIA-Novosti press center in Moscow.
Mr. Jens Paulus expressed satisfaction with successful projects carried out by the Foundation and the Russian Church, noting that the February event had a considerable public response in Germany. He also stated his readiness to help broaden and deepen the mutually beneficial co-work. He said in particular that the Foundation was interested in the conference on Human Rights in Modern Society planned to be hold by the National Assembly of Serpska Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations this summer in Banja Luka.
They also discussed the preservation of Europe’s Christian image in a situation where the continent becomes a common home for people of various faiths and ethnic origins. They agreed that Christianity is one of the bearings of the European civilization. Therefore, they said efforts should be taken to see to it that Christian values remained not only Europe’s heritage but also the basis of all socially significant European processes. Only this way the innovative development of European states can be ensured. Both sides stressed that a considerable role in modernization processes belongs to religious education as called to implant to the human personality a life-asserting worldview, drive for creative work, diligence and respect for the neighbour.
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