The official visit of the Primate of the Episcopal Church in the USA to the Russian Orthodox Church

THE OFFICIAL VISIT OF THE PRIMATE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN THE USA TO THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

The Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the USA, was in Moscow from July 3 to July 7, 1999, at the invitation of His Holiness Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. He was accompanied by Bishop Roger White of Milwaukee, co-chair of the Joint Coordinating Committee for Relations of the Episcopal Church with the Russian Orthodox Church; Bishop Richard F. Grein of New York, chair of the Episcopal Church’s national committee for relations with the Orthodox churches in the USA and founder of the New York Diocesan Russia Committee; Bishop Charles Keyser in charge of Military, Prison, and Hospital Chaplaincies of the Episcopal Church; Canon David Perry, Officer for Ecumenical Relations of the Episcopal Church; Canon Professor J. Robert Wright, Theological Consultant to the Ecumenical Office of the Episcopal Church; Canon John Backus, chair of the New York Diocesan Committee for Relations with the Orthodox Churches; Mr. James Solheim, Director of the Office of News Information of the Episcopal Church; and Canon James Rosenthal, Director of Communications for the Anglican Communion.

On July 3, the Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and his associates were met at Sheremetyevo-2 airport by Bishop Savva of Krasnogorsk, chairman of the Department for the Armed Forces and Law-enforcement Agencies, Archimandrite Feofan, a vice-chairman of the DECR, and Hieromonk Hilarion (Alfeyev), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations.
On the same day the American delegation visited the Cathedral of the Epiphany during the celebration of All-Night Vigil and venerated the relics of St. Alexis, Metropolitan of Moscow. Then the guests proceeded to the Church of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity at Khoroshevo, where its rector, Archimandrite Feofan, showed them the progress made in restoration work on the church facilities and invited them for supper.

On Sunday, July 4, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and all the members of the American delegation attended the Divine Liturgy at St. Sergius’ Church in the Monastery of St. Peter-on-the-Hill, which was celebrated by Metropolitan Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate. After the service, Metropolitan Sergiy greeted the American guests, stressing that relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Episcopal Church in the USA had always been friendly. The delegation joined the congregation in offering congratulations to the rector of the church, Hegumen Ioann (Ekonomtsev), on his 60th birthday.

After a tour of St. Peter’s-on-the-Hill, the guests went to St. Catherine’s, the Metochion of the Orthodox Church in America. They met there with Bishop Basil (Osborn) of Sergievsk, Protopresbyter Daniel Gubiak, the rector of the church, and the clergy and parishioners.

On the same day, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Grisworld and his delegation visited the Donskoy Monastery and venerated the relics of St. Tikhon, who once served as bishop in North America and later became Patriarch of All Russia and confessor of Christian faith. The guests venerated the miracle-working Icon of Our Lady of the Don and visited the cell where St. Tikhon was held under house arrest. The American guests were deeply moved to see in this cell an old photograph from an American newspaper showing the future Patriarch of Moscow in the company of Episcopal bishops and clergy.

In the evening, the delegation was at the Anglican Church of St. Andrew to celebrate their national holiday, the Independence Day, together with the clergy of the church and representatives of the Embassies of the United States and Great Britain. Present at the reception was Hieromonk Hilarion, DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations.

In the morning of July 5, the delegation of the Episcopal Church visited the Church of Christ the Saviour under construction. They were introduced to the history of the church and the progress made in the construction work and visited the lower Chapel of the Transfiguration.

In the afternoon, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and all members of his delegation were received by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia. Participating in the meeting were also Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, Protopresbyter Matthew Stadniuk, secretary to His Holiness the Patriarch, Protodeacon Vladimir Nazarkin, Mr. V. Malukhin, DECR Communications director, and Ms. Ye. Speranskaya of the DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations.
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia warmly welcomed the Presiding Bishop and his associates, noting that he had known many of them fairly well for a long time. His Holiness emphasized that the memory of St. Tikhon drew our Churches together, while reciprocal visits and joint social efforts strengthened our good relations. His Holiness the Patriarch noted with gratitude the assistance that the Episcopal Church in the USA gave to our Church in the efforts to restore her life to normal condition after the decades of prosecution, adding that the Episcopal Church never made any attempts at proselytism in Russia. Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold thanked him for the generous welcome given to the American delegation, stressing that he as the new Primate of the Church would continue developing friendly relations between the Russian Orthodox and the American Anglicans. The Presiding Bishop shared the impression he had after his first visit to churches in Moscow, saying that he was impressed by the spirit of prayer pervading them. The Right Rev. Griswold also said that he honoured St. Seraphim of Sarov, while the collected works on prayer by St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov, which was recently translated into English, revealed for him the depth of Orthodox holiness.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church gave lunch in honour of the Presiding Bishop and the delegation of the Episcopal Church in the USA. After the lunch, Patriarch Alexy and Bishop Griswold exchanged presents.
In the afternoon, the American delegation had a talk with the DECR chairman, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, and the staff of the DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations. Metropolitan Kirill warmly welcomed the Presiding Bishop and explained the work of the Department for External Church Relations. His Eminence emphasized that one of the tasks of the Department was to develop a concept of relations between the Church, society and the state. He gave special attention to the problem of overcoming the consequences of war in Yugoslavia, seeing it in two aspects: reconciliation of the people and reconstruction of the country after the destructive bombing by NATO air forces. He expressed bewilderment at the behaviour of Western countries who aided only the Albanian side rather than all the victims and stressed that the unjust distribution of aid was in itself a time bomb. He invited the representatives of the Episcopal Church to take part in the discussion on how our Churches can collaborate to develop a common strategy for settling the situation in Yugoslavia. Bishop Griswold, in his turn, informed the Russian side that the Presiding Bishop’s Foundation had already transferred 1 million dollars in aid to those who suffered from the war in Yugoslavia. The American delegation strongly supported the idea expressed by Metropolitan Kirill to convene an international Christian conference on Yugoslavia and stated that they were aware of the heroic efforts of Patriarch Pavle of Serbia to establish peace with justice in Yugoslavia.

Further discussion concerned the possibility and necessity for the re-structuring of the World Council of Churches in a way that is more fully reflective of the aspirations and commitments of the various confessional families. The meeting considered the work of the Joint Coordinating Committee for future relations between the two Churches. Preparations for the next theological dialogue between the two Churches were analyzed. It was agreed that they should focus on the New Millennium and ways to surmount the ideological differences that exist between East and West. The meeting also dealt with matters of practical cooperation for the future, such as the exchange of students.

In the conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Kirill gave dinner in honour of the Presiding bishop and the delegation of the Episcopal Church in the USA.

On July 6, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and some members of his delegation were in St. Sergius’ Laura of the Trinity and the Moscow Theological Academy. They also visited the Sofrino art production workshops of the Moscow Patriarchate. Bishop Richard Grein of New York and Canon John Backus paid a visit to the Department of Charity and Social Service for a talk with its chairman, Metropolitan Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, while Bishop Charles Keyser visited the Department for the Armed Forces and Law-Enforcement Agencies to have a talk with its chairman, Bishop Savva of Krasnogorsk. Then Bishop Keyser went to the Armored Troops Institute at Kubinka near Moscow to attend the consecration of the Chapel of St. Prince Dimitry Donskoy conducted by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

On the same day, the Joint Coordinating Committee for cooperation between our Churches met for its regular session.
In the evening, Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold gave dinner in honour of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia at the restaurant of the Danilovskaya Hotel.

On July 7, the American delegation visited, on its way to the airport, the Department for the Armed Forces and Law-Enforcement Agencies. Its chairman, Bishop Savva, showed the guests the restoration work carried out in the lower Church of Our Lady of Jerusalem and in the upper Church of the Holy Ascension and on the facilities occupied by an orphanage.

In the afternoon, the Episcopal delegation led by the Presiding Bishop left Russia. The guests were seen off by Bishop Savva and Hieromonk Hilarion.

During their stay in Moscow, the American delegation devoted much time to prayer. Every day Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold celebrated the Eucharist at a special room set aside for the purpose at the Danilovskaya Hotel. Even earlier in the morning, Bishop Griswold prayed at the Church of the Holy Fathers of the Seven Ecumenical Councils at St. Daniel’s Monastery. The guests ardently prayed at Russian Orthodox shrines – holy images and relics of the people of God.

Overall, the meetings and discussions in Moscow were held in the spirit of mutual understanding and friendship, which gives confidence in the success of further cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Episcopal Church in the USA.
C O M M U N I Q U E

The Most Rev. Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.A., made his first official visit to Russia and to the Russian Orthodox Church from July 3 to July 7, 1999, at the invitation of His Holiness Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The Presiding Bishop was accompanied by the Rt. Rev. Roger White, Bishop of Milwaukee and co-chair of the Joint Coordinating Committee for Relations of the Episcopal Church with the Russian Orthodox Church; the Rt. Rev.

Richard F. Grein, Bishop of New York, chair of the Episcopal Church’s national committee for relations with the Orthodox churches in the U.S.A. and founder of the New York Diocesan Russia Committee; the Rt. Rev. Charles Keyser, Bishop for Military, Prison, and Hospital Chaplaincies of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Canon David Perry, Officer for Ecumenical Relations of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Canon Professor J. Robert Wright, Theological Consultant to the Ecumenical Office of the Episcopal Church; the Rev. Canon John Backus, chair of the New York Diocesan Committee for Relations with the Orthodox Churches; Mr. James Solheim, Director of the Office of News Information of the Episcopal Church; and Canon Mr. James Rosenthal, Director of Communications for the Anglican Communion.

The delegation received a warm welcome from His Holiness the Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow and all Russia, who gave lunch in honour of the Presiding Bishop and his associates at his residence in the Danilov Monastery. Discussions were held with His Eminence Kyrill, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the staff of the Department, after which dinner was hosted by His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill. The Presiding Bishop hosted a concluding dinner in honour of His Holiness the Patriarch.

Highlights of the visit included services of worship at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Epiphany, the Church of the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity at Khoroshevo, the Church of St. Metropolitan Peter on the Hill, and the Church of the Great Martyr St. Catherine in the Fields (the representation of the Orthodox Church in America). Visits were also made to the Danilov Monastery, where the delegation stayed in the nearby hotel, to the Shrine and Relics of St. Patriarch Tikhon, formerly Russian Archbishop in North America and later Patriarch of Moscow and confessor of the faith, at the Donskoy Monastery; to the Anglican Church of St. Andrew, to the Christ the Saviour Cathedral, formerly bombed and where reconstruction is nearly complete; to the Moscow Theological Academy and the Holy Trinity-Sergius Lavra, where the Presiding Bishop venerated the Relics of St. Sergius.

Discussions with the Department of External Church Relations, led by the Presiding Bishop and Metropolitan Kyrill, focussed on five topics: 1) The recent situation in Yugoslavia and the question of how the two churches can collaborate to develop a common strategy and even a conference that will promote peace and the avoidance of such crises as Kosovo in the future; 2) A possible proposal for the re-structuring of the World Council of Churches in a way that is more fully reflective of the aspirations and commitments of the various confessional families that belong to it; 3) The Joint Coordinating Committee and its work for future relations between the two churches; 4) The next theological dialogue to be sponsored jointly between the two churches, which should focus on the New Millennium and better ways to understand and surmount the ideological differences that seem to exist between East and West; and 5) Matters of practical cooperation for the future, such as the exchange of students.

Overall, the discussions were conducted in the context of open exchange of views, and much hope for the future and ever-deepening relationships of the two churches in their friendship that has existed already for well over a century and began officially with the establishment of the Russo-Greek Committee by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the year 1862.

The Joint Coordinating Committee had its meeting on July 6, and set the dates for its next meeting as Mar 6-10, 2000.