DECR chairman appeals to Russia’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs concerning the situation around the building of a Russian church in New Delhi

On August 29, 2012, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, sent to Mr. G. Karasin, State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, a letter about the situation around of the building of a Russian church in New Delhi.

The DECR chairman informed Mr. Karasin that the Moscow Patriarchate tried for a long time to obtain a plot of land for building a church in New Delhi, but there were no substantial progress in this matter.

At the same time, he noted, on June 7, 2012, a ceremony took place in Moscow to launch the construction of a Krishnaite center of Vedic culture near Khimki, Moscow Region. An official permission for the building of this center was issued in 2006. As is known, the Krishnaites had made repeated attempts earlier to erect their worship building inside Moscow, which was a matter of concern for local people and traditional religious communities in Russia.

In spite of the fact that there is a large Russian-speaking community in India, there is only one acting church of the Moscow Patriarchate in the country at present, and it is located at the residential section of the Russian Embassy. To take pastoral care of Russian-speaking compatriots residing in the center of the country, the Russian Orthodox Church planned to build a church in New Delhi. But despite the negotiations, which have lasted for many years, the Indian authorities still have made no decision on allocating land for the construction.

In his letter to the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Metropolitan Hilarion pointed to the imparity of the situation and expressed regret about the absence of any progress in the dialogue with the Indian authorities concerning the allocation of a plot of land for building a Russian Orthodox church in the Indian capital.

DECR Communication Service

Print publication

DECR chairman appeals to Russia’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs concerning the situation around the building of a Russian church in New Delhi

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons