Patriarch Kirill honoured with Moldova’s highest award

On October 9, 2011, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was presented with Moldova’s highest award, the Order of the Republic, in a solemn ceremony at the Palace of the Republic in Kishinev, the capital of Moldova.

As is stated in the decree of the head of the state, the primate of the Russian Church is awarded this order in acknowledgement of ‘his special services for the preservation and augmentation of spiritual and moral values, for his longtime fruitful work for strengthening Orthodox traditions and for his contribution to the development and deepening of relations between the Russian and Moldavian peoples’.

Presenting the decoration, Moldova’s acting president M. I. Lupu said in particular, ‘This award is an expression of lofty relations between the Church and the state in the Republic of Moldova. It is an evaluation of your work to achieve the great goal of consolidation of Orthodox unity and Christian regeneration. Your ideals of Orthodox values serve as a guideline not only in your own life but also in the life of our countries and peoples. Today your voice and your authority are demanded as never because, irrespective of political views and religious beliefs, we all work to achieve the same goal – a dignified prosperous and peaceful life of people’.

Patriarchal Press Service/DECR Communication Service