Russian Orthodox Church representative attends 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin

The 50^th International Eucharistic Congress is being held from June 10 to 17, 2012, in Dublin, Ireland. It is chaired by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Roman Catholic Church. Among the guests is Father George Zavershinsky, dean of the Russian Orthodox Church’s parishes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Father George read out a message of greetings sent to the Congress by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external relations. In his message, Metropolitan Hilarion expressed concern for the modern tendencies for deviation from Christian roots and from the traditional religious and moral heritage of European nations. Among the causes of these tendencies, the document states, is the weaken attention to the doctrinal truths and sacramental life of the Church. Metropolitan Hilarion also warns against the inclination to see in the sacrament of the Eucharist not a manifestation of the conciliar life of the Church but a means for meeting private spiritual needs since ‘the spiritual consumerist’ attitude to the sacrament often leads to the desacralization of Eucharistic life which lies in the foundation of the Church’s existence.

The International Eucharistic Congress is traditionally held by the Roman Catholic Church once in four years in various countries. It attracts a considerable number of participants including bishops, priests and lay people. The first Congress took place in 1881 in Lille, France, and the previous one in 2008, in Quebec, Canada.

DECR Communication Service

Print publication

Russian Orthodox Church representative attends 50th International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons

Patriarch

Department Chairman

Sermons