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Hegumen Philip Riabykh, vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, met with Turkey’s President of Religious Affairs Ali Bardakoglu, in the course of a meeting of the European Council of Religious Leaders on 27 April 2010 in Istanbul.

They discussed prospects for cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Muslims in Turkey and considered a possibility for beginning a regular dialogue between representatives of the two dominant religions in Russia and Turkey. An agreement for the development of this project had been reached at the meetings His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia had with Turkey’s leaders during his official visit last July. L

Such dialogue already exists between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Muslims in Iran. Meetings organized for this dialogue help to learn each other’s positions on major social problems affecting the peaceful co-existence of various nations. This dialogue also helps to unite efforts in advocating on international arena common approaches to building public life, especially in the face of aggressive secularism.

DECR Communication Service