Primates of Orthodox Churches of Constantinople and Russia hold talks at Kiev Monastery of the Caves

His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia shared a festive repast at the Kiev Monastery of the Caves after celebrating the Divine Liturgy together on 27 July 2008 on St. Vladimir’s Mount.

After the meal they had talks at the residence of His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine. After their tкte-а-tкte meeting for over an hour they were joined by Metropolitan Juvenaly of Krutisy and Kolomna and Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, as well as the delegation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

After the meeting the heads of the two Churches held a briefing for the mass media.

His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew made a high assessment of the meeting. He said it was always useful to have frank talks, especially in cases of some problems in relations between Churches.

‘In the talk with His Holiness Patriarch Alexy, we have renewed the determination we showed before to work for the development of relations’, the Primate of the Church of Constantinople said, adding, ‘we all bear responsibility for the inter-Orthodox unity’.

He also told journalists that they considered actions enabling His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia to participate in the meeting of primates of Orthodox Churches planned to take place in October at Fanar and in other events devoted to the Year of St. Paul.

Patriarch Alexy thanked Patriarch Bartholomew for his concelebration in the Divine Liturgy and ‘for his participation in the fraternal repast and the frank talk’.

‘We have agreed that all the difficulties in relations between our two Churches – and problems can arise in every family – should be resolved through dialogue’, Patriarch Alexy stressed, noting that disputable and acute problems were posed in the talk.

According to Patriarch Alexy, an agreement was reached that delegations of the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Moscow would get down to preparing decisions to meet the interests of the both Churches.

Answering questions from journalists, Metropolitan Kirill expressed the conviction that the meeting between the two Patriarchs became a very important event. ‘We very much hope that it has really given a new breath to our bilateral relations’, he said.

According to His Eminence Kirill, His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew expressed his attitude very clearly: the church division in Ukraine should be overcome in a canonical way. And Patriarch Alexy fully shared this attitude, the DECR chairman stressed.

‘It is a very important starting point to be followed by dialogue, and we shall think how this idea can be realized in the present situation in the best possible way’, the metropolitan said.

He also noted that the main result of the meeting was that it testified to full unity not only between the two patriarchs but among all the Local Orthodox Churches with regard to the need to preserve canonical order in the world Orthodoxy and to prevent the use of non-canonical means for creating any church structures anywhere.

‘I believe the two patriarchs gave a very important and essentially positive testimony first during today’s service and then in their tete-а-tete meeting’, Metropolitan Kirill said.

He also indicated that the theme of the separation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from the Moscow Patriarchate was not on the agenda. It exists, he believes, only ‘in some heads’.

‘It is very important, as the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has said, that political projects should not interfere in church life and destroy it; in relations between Churches no actions should be taken under the influence of political factors to inflict an irreparable damage on Orthodoxy’, Metropolitan Kirill said answering questions from journalists after the briefing.

DECR Communication Service

• Primates of Orthodox Churches of Constantinople and Russia hold talks at Kiev Monastery of the Caves
• Patriarch Alexy: Unity of Russian Orthodoxy cannot impede full-fledged life of sovereign state
• Solemn divine service at the Monument to the Baptizer of Russia in Kiev