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The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates a thanksgiving prayer service in the Trinity Cathedral of St.Daniel’s Monastery on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Department for External Church Relations

6.06.2006 · Архив 2005-2009, События  

On 6 June 2006, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia celebrated a festive thanksgiving prayer service in the Cathedral of the Trinity of St.Daniel’s Monastery on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations. The ordained staff members of the Department concelebrated.

Before the prayer service His Holiness addressed Metropolitan Kirill: ‘Today we solemnly celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Department for External Church Relations and thank God for fraternal relations with the Local Orthodox Churches, contacts with the non-Orthodox world, common work with other religions, public organizations and movements have been carried through by the Department during these years.

In recent years our Church and the Department for External Church Relations have encountered even more tasks to solve, including care for our compatriots who, as the fates decrees, have found themselves abroad. Living in a non-Orthodox milieu, in the countries with another culture and language, they ask for the opening of an Orthodox church of the Moscow Patriarchate there so that they could preserve spiritual ties their the Motherland and with their Mother Church.’

The hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church who have arrives in Moscow to tale part in the festivities prayed at the service.

After it, His Holiness the Patriarch presented the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill with a Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and said; ‘Dear Vladyka Metropolitan, I congratulate you and in your person the Department for External Church Relations staff members who fulfil different tasks in different countries and on different continents thus serving our Holy Church.’

Metropolitan Kirill thanked His Holiness the Patriarch on behalf of all staff members of the Department. ‘Both external and domestic church activities are carried out with your primatial blessing and under your guidance. We help you in this ministry as far as we can. We experience you zeal in all that is taking place in the field of external church relations. You are carrying a great part of this burden and meet with the well-known politicians and public figures from all over the world. We know how difficult is this task, but you fulfil it for the glory of God thus giving the lead to all of us.’

He added in conclusion; ‘Today, when the Department celebrates its 6oth anniversary, we congratulate you, Your Holiness, on this event, and we wholeheartedly thank you for the awards that you blessed to confer on those staff members who distinguished themselves in the field of external church activities. Please accept my deep gratitude for this beautiful icon that I will always cherish as a sign of your kind and paternal attitude to the workers of the Department for External Church Relations.’