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‘The Mission of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Modern World’ will take place at the Iegudi Menukhin exhibition hall of the European Parliament in Brussels on 9 November 2009.

The exhibition is being held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in the framework of the European Russian Forum “One Europe from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean: Dreams or a Possibility?”  This is the Third Russian European Forum, the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House reports. It is a unique place for dialogue and effective cooperation among all interested partners representing the Russian-speaking civil society, business circles, and traditional religions in Europe.

The purpose of the forum is to develop a non-governmental dialogue between Russia and the European Union, to advance Russia’s positive image in the West, and consolidate cooperation among the Russian-speaking diasporas in Europe.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House, the representation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European institutions, and St. Gregory the Theologian Foundation. Taking part in the preparation were also the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations and the Russian Orthodox Church Archdiocese of Brussels and Belgium with assistance of the Green/EFA political group of the European Parliament, the Moscow Government, and the Public Diplomacy Foundation.

The exhibited photos illustrate the “Foundations of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church,” showing its stand on the family and public life, challenges of globalization and secularism, bioethics and ecology, and participation of Christians in the governmental, political and charity activities.

The exhibition displays cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church with the secular media that can bring good ideas to society.

The editor-in-chief of the Moscow Patriarchate Publishing House archpriest Vladimir Siloviev believes that such exhibitions facilitate the comprehension of Christian values by people living Russia and in the European Union countries.

The exhibition catalogue in English will be presented at the opening ceremony. In future people can see the exhibition at other European exhibition halls.