Archpastoral visit by Metropolitan Kirill to Tunisia

ARCHPASTORAL VISIT BY METROPOLITAN KIRILL TO TUNISIA

His Eminence Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, was on an archpastoral visitation to Tunisia from March 24 to 27, 2001. His visit was planned to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox parish in that country.

On March 24, Metropolitan Kirill conducted a requiem service to commemorate “all the leaders, soldiers, brothers and sisters of ours who are buried in the Tunisian land”, at the Christian cemetery in Bizerta. After the service, His Eminence had a long talk with A.Shirinskaya-Meinstein.

Anastasia Alexandrovna is the last of those Russians who came in 1920 to Bizerta with a Russian squadron and who worked to build two Russian churches, the church of the Holy Resurrection in Tunis and the church of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky in Bizerta. It is through her intercession that the churches in Tunisia were accepted in the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

In the evening, Metropolitan Kirill officiated at Vespers at St. Alexander’s.

On March 25, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the church of the Resurrection in Tunis. During the service, the rector of the two Orthodox churches in Tunisia, Father Dimitry Netsvetaev, was elevated to the rank of archpriest.

After the service, His Eminence read out a Message from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to the rector and parishioners of the two churches in Tunisia. He presented Jubilee Patriarchal Diplomas to Mr. Podtseroba, Russian Ambassador in Tunis, Mr. S.Bedrinsky, councilor of the Russian embassy, Mr. O.Fomin, first secretary of the Russian embassy and director of the Russian Cultural and Scientific Center, Ms. A.Shirinskaya-Meinstein and other parishioners of the Russian churches.

On the same day, Metropolitan Kirill met with compatriots at the Russian Cultural and Scientific Center. He spoke on the present situation in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Church’s relations with society and the sate and the social service of the Church, and answered numerous questions from the audience.