Festival of Christian Culture “Russia- Greece. Together through the Centuries”

The 5^th International Charity Festival of Christian Culture “Russia-Greece: Together through the Centuries” was held on August 21, 2021 in two different places: in the Hall of Church Councils of Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow and on the square in front of the main church of the Russian Armed Forces – the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ at the Patriot Park near Moscow.

This year, the festival has been timed to coincide with the 200^th anniversary of the beginning of the national liberation struggle of the Greek people and with the 20^th anniversary of the glorification of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov as a saint. In the framework of this cultural forum there were conducted art master-classes, competitions and concerts at which the guests could hear Russian and Greek music, see national dances and national costumes of the two countries. In addition, at one of its events, the “Marathon of Good Deeds,” the winners of the all-Russian children’s drawing contest “Friendship of Russian and Greek Peoples’ were distinguished with awards.

A moleben service outside the main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces opened the programme of the festival of Christian culture.

The visitors of the Patriot Park could get acquainted with the exhibition “Сorfu. I strive for you – to love, create, and believe” and with the display “The Invincible Admiral, Righteous Saint Fyodor Ushakov,” presenting among its exhibits dozens of rarities related to the life of this great naval commander and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The gala-concert of the festival took place at the Hall of Councils of Christ the Saviour Cathedral. A video-address from the head of the organizing committee of the festival, chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society Sergey V. Stepashin, preceded the program of the concert.

Archbishop Leonid of Vladikavkaz and Alania, deputy chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, read out a message of greeting from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill mentioned the tightly bound historical lives of people in Russia and Greece and continued to say: “St. Fyodor Ushakov as head of the Russian Navy squadron participated in the liberation of Ionian Islands from foreign occupation and a little later, Russian warriors helped their Greek brothers in their struggle for independence.  The memory of fallen heroes, of their selfless feat is sacred for people in Russia and Greece. The Russian Orthodox Church invariably stands up for the preservation of this memory and makes a considerable contribution to strengthening relations between our countries and peoples tied by their common Christian faith and spiritually close culture. To preserve faithfulness to the lofty ideals of the Gospel, to remember the commandments of our ancestors, who put much effort into the joint struggle for the freedom of the Greek people, is our calling and duty before the present and future generations.”

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church hopes that the festival “Russia-Greece. Together through the Centuries” will contribute “to the fellowship of our contemporaries and give them an opportunity for gaining a better knowledge of the rich heritage of the Russian and Greek cultures.”

President of the festival Pavel A. Karpukhin read out a message from Mr. Sergey V. Lavrov, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Greetings to the organizers, participants and guests of the festival were also sent by Ms. Valentina I. Matviyenko, chairwoman of the Federation Council of Russia; Mr. Sergey Shoygu, Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation; Ms. Olga B. Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation; Mr. Sergey Ye. Naryshkin, chairman of the Russian Historical Society; Mr. Sergei A. Gavrilov, president of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy and chairman of the State Duma Committee for the development of civil society, issues of public associations and religious organizations; H.E. Andrey M. Maslov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Hellenic Republic, and many others.

DECR Communication Service