Reception is given on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in honour of delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches

In the evening of 27 July 2015, after the meeting of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches who had arrived in Moscow to take part in the celebrations marking the millennium of the demise of the Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, a reception was given on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in honour of the delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches.

Among those who spoke during the reception were Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis (Church of Alexandria), Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis (Church of Antioch), Metropolitan Timotheos of Bostra (Church of Jerusalem), Bishop Vakhtang of Nikortsminda (Georgian Church), Metropolitan Amfilohije of Crna Gora and Primorje (Serbian Church), Metropolitan Nifon of Târgovişte (Romanian Church), Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin (Bulgarian Church), Bishop Nektarios of Arsinoë (Church of Cyprus), Metropolitan Amvrosios of Kalavryta (Church of Greece), Bishop Naphanael of Amantia (Albanian Church), Bishop George of Siemiatycze (Polish Church), Archbishop Juraj of Michalovce and Košice (Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia), and Archbishop Irénée of Ottawa and Canada (Orthodox Church in America). In their speeches, the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the invitation to take part in the celebrations marking the millennium of the demise of the Holy Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, and conveyed to him messages of greeting from the Primates of their Churches.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church also addressed all those present, noting that the Day of the Baptism of Rus’ was “of tremendous importance not only for Russia in its modern borders, but for the whole Russian world as well, for all that vast territory where the Russian Orthodox Church performs her mission.”

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill called a miracle the revival of Orthodoxy in the canonical territory of the Russian Church after the decades of persecution. “In half a century, a thousand monasteries, thirty thousand churches, and over fifty theological educational institutions have been opened, which make their contribution to the strengthening of Orthodox faith in today’s secular post-atheistic society,” the Primate said. “In six years of my Patriarchal service, one hundred forty new dioceses have been established and the number of churches has increased by several thousands. It has been made possible not thanks to our human efforts. A great spiritual energy of our people, generated by the choice made by the Holy Prince Vladimir, transforms this post-atheistic space, restoring in it the image of the Holy Rus’.”

The Patriarch noted that the developments in Ukraine had become a hard ordeal for the modern Russian Church. Speaking about the sufferings that had befallen many Ukrainians, His Holiness emphasized that “for the Church, suffering is not a sorrow, but a chance” and a path leading to holiness.

Addressing the representatives of the Local Orthodox Churches, the Patriarch expressed his hope that they all would support canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine. His Holiness described the developments in that country as “continuation of aggression against Orthodoxy, which began 400 years ago.”

“Alas! Among those who are now fighting against Orthodoxy are not only the Uniates, but also those Orthodox Christians who have yielded to the temptation of nationalistic ideas and have been plunged into a schism. If, some day, an attempt will made to legalize the schism, it will be the end of the Orthodox unity. The Russian Church will never give up in her struggle against the aggression, because the results of this battle will affect the wellbeing of all Orthodox Churches as well,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said, expressing his appreciation to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for his principled stand on the Ukrainian issue.

“If we want to be strong, we must be together. The mighty Orthodox Rus’ will never leave other Orthodox countries and nations in trouble,” His Holiness added.