His Holiness Patriarch Alexy awards Palestinian Ambassador Hairi al Oridi

On 31 October 2005, a festive evening party took place in the private house of the Russian Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the completion of diplomatic mission of Hairi al Oridi who represented Palestine in the Russian Federation.

Present were first deputy foreign minister of Russia V.V.Loschinin, heads of the Foreign Ministry departments, ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary and diplomats of the Arab countries in Russia.

His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia awarded Ambassador Hairi al Oridi with the Order of the Holy and Right-Believing Prince Daniel of Moscow, 2^nd class, in consideration of his contribution to the development of relations between Russia and Palestine and his assistance to the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society and in connection with the completion of his diplomatic mission.

Bishop Mark of Yegorievsk, deputy chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, presented the high award.

While greeting Hairi al Oridi with the award, Bishop Mark noted that for the last decade the Ambassador of Palestinian National Autonomy has done a lot for the development of good relations between the Palestinian leaders and the Russian Orthodox Church and took an active part in preparing and carrying out of the two visits of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to the Holy Land.