His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia meets with the Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev
12.03.2003 · English
HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH ALEXY II OF MOSCOW AND ALL RUSSIA MEETS WITH THE KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENT NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV
His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia met on February 18, 2003, with the President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan, at his residence in St. Daniel’s monastery.
In the course of a frank talk they noted that in the years of the formation of independent state in Kazakhstan the country managed to avoid any confrontation on religious grounds. His Holiness Patriarch Alexy recalled the words Mr. Nazarbayev said during one of their previous meetings, “Orthodoxy and Islam are the two pillars on which the spirituality of the Kazakhstan people stands”.
In his turn, the President of Kazakhstan emphasized that over 90 percent of the people in his country are followers of Orthodoxy and Islam. For the recent years, the number of Orthodox parishes in Kazakhstan has increased four times, from 64 to 240. At present, there are 170 churches in the country, and a cathedral is being built in the new capital city.
An exchange of views took place on the situation in Iraq. A conviction was expressed that the problem of disarming Iraq should be solved only by diplomatic means, without resorting to military force. “War does not resolve contradictions but always brings new disasters and suffering to civilians”, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said.
In conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Nazarbayev invited His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to come for a visit to Kazakhstan (His Holiness made his first Primatial visitation to this country in 1995).
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