Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate to Hold a Press-Conference on the Orthodox Russia Exhibition

The Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate will hold a press conference on the Orthodox Russia Exhibition (Gostiny Dvor, Moscow, 30 May to 4 June) on 29 May 2006 at 11am.

The Orthodox Russia Exhibition is an annual project organized since 2003 with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy in the Gostiny Dvor Exhibition Centre, Moscow. The organizers are the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Pilgrims’ Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the exhibition group Rostek.

The Orthodox Russia Exhibition attracts much interest in Russia and abroad, as it’s become a notorious event in public life. Different sides of church life are present in expositions of synodal departments, dioceses, monasteries, parishes, church and secular education institutions, Orthodox printers, NGOs, church craft centres. The exhibition harbors all sorts of meetings and round tables where many issues including Church and State and Church and Society are discussed.

This year the project has been expanded to include an art exhibition, a musical festival and other events reflecting various sides of spiritual and public life.

The press conference will be participated by the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrade, vice-chairmen Bishop Mark of Yegoryevsk and Father Vsevolod Chaplin, the general director of the Pilgrims’ Centre of the Moscow Patriarchate Mr. Zhitenev, the president of the exhibition group Rostek Mr. Trofimov.

Accreditation of mass media before 29 May 9am, phone +7 (495) 2302439

• An ‘Orthodox Russia’ exhibition closed with awarding of its participants
• Обращение Святейшего Патриарха Алексия к участникам и гостям IV Общецерковной выставки-форума «Православная Русь» (30 мая – 3 июня 2006 года), опубликованное в буклете, посвященном выставке
• Presents are handed over to families with many children at the opening ceremony of the Fourth ‘Orthodox Russia’ All-Church Exhibition
• His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II leads the opening ceremony of the Fourth ‘Orthodox Russia’ All-Church Exhibition
• Address of Patriarch Alexis of Moscow and all Russia at the Opening of the Fourth Orthodox Russia All-Church Exhibition
• Musical festival is opened in the framework of the ‘Orthodox Russia’ exhibition
• Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate to Hold a Press-Conference on the Orthodox Russia Exhibition
• Session of the Orthodox Russia exhibition organizing committee