Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, sends a letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the State of Israel
12.04.2002 · English, Архив 2002
METROPOLITAN KIRILL OF SMOLENSK AND KALININGRAD, CHAIRMAN OF THE DEPARTMENT FOR EXTERNAL CHURCH RELATIONS OF THE MOSCOW PATRIARCHATE, SENDS A LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
On 12 April 2002 Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, sent a letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the State of Israel in connection with the situation in Bethlehem around the Church of the Nativity of Christ and the building of the House for Pilgrims, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church.
The letter reads: ‘The Russian Orthodox Church is alarmed with the strained situation in Bethlehem in general and with the Church of the Nativity of Christ in particular which remains in the centre of the military confrontation and inaccessible to the pilgrims. As it was noted in the Statement of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of April 4, we come forward for the withdrawal of all armed people from this place, which is a holy place for many millions of Christians in the whole world.
Expressed in the letter was a protest against a new bringing of the Israeli troops in the territory of the House of Pilgrims, which belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church in Bethlehem and a questions was raised about a material reimbursement for the detriment.
The letter ends with an appeal to the warring parties to peace: ‘We again call both sides to the reopening of the process of negotiations aimed at achieving peace with justice, and we offer our prayers to the Lord for that.’
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