His Holiness the Patriarch attended a meeting of the Orthodox Businessmen Club

HIS HOLINESS THE PATRIARCH ATTENDED A MEETING OF THE ORTHODOX BUSINESSMEN CLUB

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia attended the session of the Orthodox Businessmen Club on December 22 at the Moscow Patriarchate’s Danilovskaya Hotel. The meeting was devoted to the 4th anniversary of the Club, which is engaged, among other things, in giving charity support to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Club gave His Holiness a collection of paintings by V. Shilov, representing a gallery of portraits of all the fifteen Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. The members of the Club are convinced that the Patriarch’s service is especially important in our days when Russian society seeks social stability.

Archimandrite Sergius (Sturov), chairman of Foundation of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of All Russia and dean of a district in the Pskov diocese, gave Patriarch Alexy an icon of the Lord Not-Made-With-Hands. It had been kept at the Church of Christ the Saviour and rescued by the faithful after the church was destroyed. His Holiness said that the rediscovered icon would occupy a worthy place in the Church of Christ the Saviour and would testify to the continued link between the first church that was barbarously destroyed in 1931 and the newly-restored cathedral consecrated in the Jubilee year of 2000.

The president of the Club Yu. Yakutin made a report on the work carried out in 2000. The Club was awarded the diploma of the Moscow City Duma in recognition of its achievements in organization of charity and patronage work.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy decorated the businessmen who took an active part in the Club’s charity work in 2000. After the meeting a recital of religious and folk music took place.