His Holiness the Patriarch meets representatives of Russian communities in the CIS and Baltic countries
10.03.2001 · English, Архив 2001
HIS HOLINESS THE PATRIARCH MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF RUSSIAN COMMUNITIES IN THE CIS AND BALTIC COUNTRIES
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia met with leaders of Russian communities in the CIS and Baltic countries on March 6 at his residence in St. Daniel’s monastery. The leaders came to Moscow for a meeting of the Compatriots Council under the State Duma.
His Holiness the Patriarch spoke about the service carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church in the countries of near abroad. He noted that “the Russian Orthodox Church considers it her duty to help compatriots who live abroad and to consolidate their unity. Many Russians have found themselves far from their land not of their own will. For Russian communities the Orthodox Church is a living link with their Fatherland”. According to His Holiness, the Church supports the efforts of President Putin in his concern for our compatriots in the CIS and Baltic countries.
The participants in the meeting expressed concern, in particular, for Orthodoxy in Ukraine and Estonia. In his response His Holiness said that the attempts to create “independent” church structures in these countries are essentially political actions aimed to destroy links between people of the same faith, culture and tradition. Speaking about the situation in Estonia, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized that “the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has done nothing to assert Orthodoxy in Estonia, has used political problems to justify its presence in this region”.
Participating in the meeting were also B. Pastukhov, chairman of the State Duma committee for the CIS and relations with compatriots, and Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, DECR secretary for church-society relations.
Among those who spoke at the meeting were S. Mirsky, Association of Russian Communities in Latvia, E. Gorin, chairman of the Society for Solidarity of the Peoples of Azerbaijan, Yu. Mishin, chairman of the Estonian Republican Union of Russian Citizens, E. Tomberg, member of Estonian Parliament, G. Vlasov, chairman of the Minsk Society of Russian Culture, A. Svistunov, chairman of the Russian Movement in Ukraine, V. Terekhov, chairman of the Russian community in the Crimea, V. Radililovsky, chairman of the Union of Slavic Public Organizations in Tajikistan, V. Mikhailov, chairman of the Slavic Movement in Kazakhstan, and other members of the Council of Compatriots.
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