Home page News
Patriarch Kirill meets with President of Slovenia

Patriarch Kirill meets with President of Slovenia

[gallery]
On November 17, 2010, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Danilo Turk, at the patriarchal residence in Chisty Pereulok.

His Holiness Kirill welcomed the guest, saying, ‘Dear Mr. President, I am glad of this opportunity to meet you. This year you have already come to the Russian capital for the celebrations which marked the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, and I think your participation in them was an important contribution to the development of relations between our two nations. And now you have come to Russia for an official visit’.

Patriarch Kirill stressed that in such contacts he as a representative of the Church ‘is interested in the first place in the preservation of the Slavic culture and development of spiritual relations between or nations’. He said that both Russia and Slovenia remember the tragedy that happened on the Vrsic Pass. In March 1916, one of the groups of Russian prisoners of war, who were clearing the road of snow blocks, were covered by a huge avalanche which took away several hundred lives. Local Slovenes buried them in a common grave. Later the remains of the Russian prisoners of war were carefully collected and reburied near a Russian chapel. In July 2011, there will be celebrations to mark the 95th anniversary of the chapel erected to commemorate the victims. The Patriarchate of Moscow is ready to participate in this commemoration event. His Holiness said it was significant that the chapel has become now a symbol of spiritual bonds between the two countries.

‘Slovenia is a successfully developing country in spite of the difficulties she has had to experience because of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Today the economic and social development of Slovenia shows that she has all the resources necessary for a new stage in her development, and we are glad at it, the patriarch said.

He also stressed that Slovenia’s entry in the European Union became a significant event as it gives her an opportunity to enrich Europe with an original culture which was formed in the midst of the Slavic civilization.

‘In Slovenia, there are about one thousand people who are linked with Russia. Among them are people of the old and new emigration who entered mixed marriages. Most of them are Orthodox people who come to churches belonging to the Serbian Orthodox Church’, the patriarch reminded his guest.

His Holiness noted with satisfaction that people in Slovenia are still interested in the Russian language. ‘There is a good human and cultural potential for our relations to become even more intensive. We can feel a special community of our nations and we are interested in all kinds of joint cultural projects, since such relations bring our nations closer together’, the patriarch said, noting that the Russian Orthodox Church will promote further development of these relations.

The President of Slovenia in his response pointed to the common spiritual and cultural roots uniting Russia and Slovenia. ‘The first documents in the Slovenian language, the so-called Freising Manuscripts made a beginning of our Christian life. After their publication in 1820 in Russia, they became known to the whole world’, he said. It shows that there has always been an interest in the uniting of the Slavic nations, Dr. Turk noted.

As a token of the meeting, the head of the Slovenian state presented Patriarch Kirill with a book on the Russian chapel on the Vrsic Pass and a photo album with pictures of all the events that have been held held at the chapel since 1992.

Patriarch Kirill presented Dr. Turk with an icon of the Mother of God, a book on the Russian Orthodox Church and his book ‘A Pastor’s Word’.

DECR Communication Service

Share:
Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

Address by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the VIII World Congress of Compatriots Living Abroad

30.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

Primate of the Russian Church celebrates Divine Liturgy in the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius Lavra on the commemoration day of St. Sergius of Radonezh

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

Message from the Primate of the Russian Church to His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia in connection with blasphemous act on the ruins of ancient Ulpiana

14.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates on the feast of the 300th anniversary of the transfer of relics of St.Alexander Nevsky to St. Petersburg

12.09.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates All-night Vigil at the Christ the Savior Cathedral on the eve of Transfiguration

18.08.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' met with the Ambassador of India to Russia

30.07.2024

Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Awa III: Ukrainian government’s support for schism and persecution of the major canonical Church is a religious pogrom against the faithful Orthodox Christians of that country

24.07.2024

Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church consecrates the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral in the city of Tver.

21.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Liturgy at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius on the commemoration day of the saint

18.07.2024

The Primate of the Russian Church celebrates All-night Vigil at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

17.07.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers at the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and reads akathist to the saint

17.07.2024

Patriarchal condolences on the death of Boris A. Nelyubov

14.07.2024

Telephone conversation held between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Primate of the Malankara Church of India

01.11.2024

DECR Chairman has begun his visit to India

31.10.2024

Work of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is declared successful

24.10.2024

Synod acknowledges importance of bilateral projects carried out in collaboration with Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

24.10.2024

Order of Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow presented to Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk by Patriarch Kirill

24.10.2024

DECR Chairman heads celebrations for the fifteenth anniversary of the consecration of the Dormition Church at the Russian embassy in Beijing.

19.10.2024

Saint Petersburg Theological Academy hosts conference on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) entitled ‘The Person of Metropolitan Nikodim in the History of the Church’.

16.10.2024

DECR Chairman meets with President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference

15.10.2024

Participants of the Divine Service at the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in Presnya congratulated the DECR Chairman on his 40th birthday.

12.10.2024

Russian diplomat given Patriarchal award.

10.10.2024

DECR Chairman delivered a lecture to students of the Russian Orthodox University

09.10.2024

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill celebrates Little Vespers and Akathistos hymn to St. Sergius in the Lavra of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius

07.10.2024

DECR Chairman takes part in festivities for the beginning of the academic year at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Postgraduate Institute.

03.10.2024

DECR chairman attends reception given by Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation

22.09.2024

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk meets with delegation of Orthodox Church in America

16.09.2024

Metropolitan Hilarion: Many things in a person's life depend on faith

29.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Holy Spirit is the main treasure of the Christian soul

01.08.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: Holiness is a constant striving to imitate the Lord Jesus Christ

27.06.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: God does not want to condemn, but to save us

07.03.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord always grants to us the opportunity to display our talents

24.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: The Lord has imbued the waters of Jordan with his divine presence to wash away human sins

19.01.2021

Metropolitan Hilarion: to repent means to change your way of life

17.01.2021

On commemoration day of St. Catherine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk officiated at the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr In-the-Fields  the representation of the Orthodox Church in America

07.12.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We can always show compassion for people

29.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion celebrates on commemoration day of St. Varlaam of Khutyn at the church of ‘Joy to All the Afflicted’ icon of the Mother of God

19.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: We should remember that the life of each human being is in the hands of God

06.11.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: For God there is nothing impossible

25.10.2020

Metropoplitan Hilarion: The cross which was an instrument of dishonourable execution becomes the symbol of salvation for millions of people

27.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Eucharist is the wedding feast, to which Lord Jesus Christ invites each of us

13.09.2020

Metropolitan Hilarion: Faith alone is not enough for salvation

30.08.2020

Page is available in the following languages
Feedback

Fields marked by * are mandatory required

Send a message
Рус Укр Eng Deu Ελλ Fra Ita Бълг ქარ Срп Rom عرب