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On 29 October 2015, on the sidelines of the 3rd International Forum on Religion and Peace, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, met with the chairman of the Caucasus Muslim Board, Sheikh ul-Islam Haji Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade, and Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Russia, Mr. Polad Bülbüloğlu.

They were joined in the meeting by Archbishop Alexander of Baku and Azerbaijan; Rev. Dimitry Safonov, head of the DECR Sector for Interreligious Contacts; and Mr. Roman Silantyev, an adviser at the Department for Church-Society Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The participants in the meeting noted the importance for religious communities to combine their efforts to restore peace in the current conflict zones and paid special attention to the difficult situation of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, where extremists and terrorists inflict sufferings on the Christian population.

“Our primary task is to establish lasting peace for people, so that everyone could live in his or her own country, in his or her own home, raise children and profess his or her faith, so that no enmity and conflicts would arise between representatives of traditional religions. We know that the traditional religions have all the necessary potential so that people might live in peace,” the DECR chairman said.

Sheikh ul-Islam Haji Allahshükür Hummat Pashazade shared with those present his vision of the role of Russia in the peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict and expressed his solidarity with the Moscow Patriarchate in opposing extremism which acts under the guise of religion.

To conclude the meeting, the participants expressed their hope for the further development of the interfaith dialogue, aimed at fostering peace among people and nations, and emphasized the importance for religious, political and public leaders to take joint actions in this sphere.

DECR Communication Service