His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, head of the Russian Imperial House
On 6 November 2012, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, head of the Russian Imperial House, at the Patriarchal resident in St. Daniel’s Monastery. They were joined in the meeting by archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal department for Church-State relations; hegumen Philaret (Bulekov), vice-chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; and Alexander Zakatov, director of the Chancery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House.
His Holiness welcomed the guests and told them about the recent celebration of the Day of National Unity. He noted that the holiday instituted in 2005 in honour of the liberation of Moscow and all Russia from foreign invaders is celebrated in all Russian cities becoming a tradition of our nation. This year it has a special dimension, as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of the end of the Time of Troubles.
His Holiness also spoke about the role of the Church in Russian society and about challenges which the faithful encounter in the modern world.
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna decorated His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the high award of the Russian Imperial House – the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. While expressing his thanks, His Holiness said that the award “testifies to the close and good relations between the Imperial family and the Russian Orthodox Church, about our like-mindedness and common understanding of many current problems in the life of society in our Fatherland.”