Metropolitan Hilarion attends theological conference devoted to St. Paul

On June 26, 2019, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), attended the 25th international academic theological conference on “The Service of the Church According to St. Paul”, which took place in Veria. It is organized annually by the Metropolis of Veria of the Greek Orthodox Church and assembles hierarchs and theologians from various Local Orthodox Churches.

This year, among the attendees were hierarchs from the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, Moscow, Georgia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Orthodox Churches of Cyprus, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Polish Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Hilarion addressed the participants with words of greetings. He conveyed to the organizers and participants in conference a message of greeting from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and stressed that “already for a quarter of a century, hierarchs, clergy, monastics and lay people from many Local Orthodox Churches have been assembling in Veria so that in this historic place we could look mentally at the legacy of the Apostle of the Gentiles, who spoke unto us the gospel of God with much contention (1 Thes. 2:2)”

“In the task of preaching and serving, Paul gives an outstanding example of fulfilling the commandment of our divine Teacher to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). To implement this calling the Lord gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph. 4:11-12)… so that the building of the Church could be joined together and risen to become a holy temple in the Lord (Eph. 2:21)”, His Eminence said.

He also underscored that “our preaching will be convincing only when we will do all possible to preserve the God-commanded unity and love. The Russian Church and our Christ-loving people cherish the ages-old fraternal bonds uniting us with the Greek people and the Church of Greece. Trusting in God’s mercy, we pray that this unity in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3) may remain unshakable in face of hostile elements of this world and intact amidst hard trials that the world Orthodoxy is experiencing in our days”.

Then Metropolitan Hilarion read a paper on “The Teaching of St. Paul on Predestination to Salvation (on the basis of the Letter to the Romans)”.

In conclusion, His Eminence presented his new book on St. Paul and spoke about the importance of the legacy of this holy apostle for Christian theology.

DECR Communication Service

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Metropolitan Hilarion attends theological conference devoted to St. Paul

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons