Metropolitan Kirill speaks at International Conference ‘Multiethnic Russia in the 21st Century: Dialogue of Cultures and Religions, Human Rights’
On 20 June 2006, an international conference ‘Multiethnic Russia in the 21st Century: Dialogue of Cultures and Religions, Human Rights’ took place in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. It was initiated and organized by the Committees for Nationalities, Culture, Public and Religious Organizations and International Affairs and together with the Public House of Russia and the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia. The Conference was attended by the Committee chairmen, and representatives of executive authorities, traditional religious communities, various districts of Russia and international organizations. The Russian Orthodox Church was represented by the Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.
At the beginning of his address Metropolitan Kirill noted the importance of a wide discussion of the principles of multiethnic structure of Russia. According to him, good-neighbourly relations between peoples of different nationalities and religions is a significant principle of today’s policy in such multiethnic states as Russia, as well as in the entire world.
Under conditions of globalization, when different parts of the globe are becoming even closer, all peoples should learn to live among people of different cultural background. Metropolitan Kirill noted that multiethnicity would be constructive rather than destructive in Russia only if society maintains a high level of morality. ‘Legislative measures, though needed, are not sufficient to develop interethnic relations. Moral education of people is highly required. Moral responsibility ought to become a major factor of our life both in economics and demography, in the mass media and in international relations. If we release our instincts, they will act all spheres, including interethnic relations. Nothing will prevent the human person from aggressive behaviour, if he, for example, does not like the skin colour or face of another person. Using the well-known words of Dostoyevsky, one can say: ‘If moral principles do not exist, anything is allowed’. It is difficult to improve the situation in society today without radical measures in the sphere of morality.’
The DECR Chairman called to stop an unproductive discussion on the presence of religious organizations in Russian school and teaching of religion: ‘We are not dealing only with the teaching of the foundations of Orthodoxy. The foundations of Islam should be taught for the Muslims, the foundations of Judaism for the Jews…Let us finally use a positive moral potential of religion.’
In conclusion Metropolitan Kirill touched upon the problem of human rights, which had been discussed at the recent 10th World Russian Peoples’ Council. According to him, the Orthodox public’s initiative is important on both national and international levels as it has offered a real way of combining the care for morality and respect of human rights.
