Patriarch Alexy II calls for unity of Russians abroad
09.01.2004, MOSCOW, January 9
The problem of the unity of Russians abroad has become imminent and should be resolved, Alexy II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, has said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper, commenting on the first results of the discussion in the West European clerical circles of his proposal on the creation of a self-governed district, which would include the dioceses, communities and monasteries of Russian origin and traditions located there.
Patriarch Alexy II explained in the interview that his initiative had been met with interest both by the hierarchs of the Orthodox Church and the clerical circles of Western Europe. As a result of it, “a serious discussion was started, whose participants are beginning to comprehend both our history and the role played by Russian emigrants in the modern world.” In his opinion, “even the first reaction to the initiative made it clear that the problem of the unification of Russians outside Russia had become imminent and needed to be resolved.”
Patriarch Alexy II believes that the beginning of the rapprochement between the two parts of the Orthodox Church, which were open enemies quite recently, is one of the aspects of the unification process with the participation of the people, who personify Russian culture. In the opinion of Patriarch Alexy II, after the recent visit of President Vladimir Putin to the United States, where he conveyed the invitation of the Patriarch to Lavr, head of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, and the visit to Moscow of a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad soon afterwards, “the obstacles were removed on the way of the restoration of unity of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church.”
“A split in the Russian nation as a result of the revolution and the civil war became a national tragedy of Russians in the 20th century. Now we are ready to start a mutually respectful discussion without any preliminary conditions,” said the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is impossible to settle at one go all the differences that accumulated in the relations with the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, but “we are happy to have made the first step,” Patriarch Alexy II added.