Pope Benedict XVI Received the Delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate
25.04.2005 · English, Архив 2005
On 25 April 2005, members of the delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches, different Christian confessions and other religions, who attended the inauguration of the newly elected Pope of Rome, were received by Pope Benedict XVI in the Apostolic Palace of Vatican.
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, conveyed to the Pope congratulations and greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia, and Archbishop Mitrofan of Pereyaslavl-Khmelnitsky, Chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, greeted Pope Benedict XVI on behalf of His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine.
During the talk between Metropolitan Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI, the Head of the Roman Catholic Church conveyed his reciprocal brotherly greetings to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and said that he agreed with the necessity to develop cooperation between the two Churches and to defend common Christian values in the life of the present-day Europe. The importance of overcoming the difficulties, which exist in the relations between the Roman Catholic and the Russian Orthodox Churches, was underlined.
The Pope noted a particular importance of the theological and liturgical traditions of the Orthodox East and expressed his respect for the mission and pastoral ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church.
That same day Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the divine service in the Basilica of St.Paul Outside the Walls attended by many worshippers, venerated the relics of the Holy Apostle and delivered a homily. Present at the divine service were delegations of the Local Orthodox Churches and other Christian confessions that took part in the inauguration festivities.
Links:
- Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, congratulated Benedict XVI, the newly-elected Pope of Rome
- His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II congratulates His Holiness Benedict XVI on his election as Primate of the Roman Catholic Church
- A Delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate in Rome
- A delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate Attended the Inauguration Ceremony of the Pope of Rome