His Holiness Patriarch Cyril met with the delegation of the Italian province of Trento

February 27, 2018 in the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with the delegation of the province of Trento (Italy) took place. The Italian delegation included the honorary Archbishop-Metropolitan Trento Monsignor Luigi Bressan, the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento Dr. Hugo Rossi, the Coordinator of the Nativity Show in Moscow Dr. Dino Leonezi, the President of the Friends of the Nativity Scene Association Walter Deflorian, the Advisor of the Province of Trento Piero Degodenz , Administrator of the Autonomous Province of Trento Dr. Maurizio Rossini, International Relations Manager of the Province of Trento Dr. Raffaele Farella, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the Province of Trento Dr. Moreno Tait, ME Predazzo Maria Bozin, Mayor of Fyave Angelo Dzambotti. From the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Deputy Chairman of the DECR, Archimandrite Filaret (Bulekov) , DECR Secretary for the Far Abroad, Archpriest Sergiy Zvonarev, DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), member of the Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations, priest Alexy Dikarev took part in the meeting. Welcoming the guests from Italy, His Holiness the Patriarch mentioned that special memories bind him with Trento, since he participated in the theological interview of representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church held in this city in 1975. "This gave me an opportunity to get acquainted with the real church and even parish life of the Catholic Church and Diocese of Trento," His Holiness said. "Therefore, I cherish very kind memories in my heart, and I am very glad to welcome you with this feeling." The reason for the arrival of the delegation of the province of Trento in Moscow was the exhibition "Ambassadors of the World - the Trentino-Alto-Adige Denis" , which is represented in the Patriarchal Museum of Church Art in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior . Opening on January 5, 2018 in Moscow after a stay in several countries, the exposition allows you to get acquainted with the art of creating Christmas nativity scenes in Italy, which is their homeland. "I know that this exhibition is very famous, it has already visited Rome, Constantinople and the Holy Land, and is now represented in Moscow," His Holiness Patriarch Kirill said. - The exhibition opened on the eve of Christmas and attracted a lot of attention of Muscovites and not only residents of the capital. " The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church thanked the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Hugo Rossi, who initiated the exhibition in Russia. His Holiness noted with satisfaction that after the meeting with the Pope of Franconia in Havana in 2016, relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church in the sphere of culture intensified. So, in late 2016 - early 2017, the Tretyakov Gallery hosted an exhibition of masterpieces of Italian painting from the Vatican Museums, which aroused great interest among the public. "The fact that we are now paying special attention to cultural ties in the context of the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church is a very correct approach to the development of bilateral relations," His Holiness said. Another very important factor is the mutual pilgrimage and worship of shrines, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia stated, noting in particular that as a result of the agreements that were reached in Havana, last year from the Italian city of Bari to Moscow and St. Petersburg were brought the relics of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. "We bring shrines from the Holy Land, from Mount Athos and from other places, and always a lot of pilgrims come to Moscow to worship them. But what happened in connection with the bringing of the relics of St. Nicholas surpassed all that was before in connection with the worship of the brought shrines, "His Holiness Patriarch Kirill recalled. - For two months, the relics were worshiped by almost 2 million 300 thousand people. Another very interesting figure: at the beginning of bringing holy relics of St. Nicholas to Russia in the organization of worship helped by 2,000 young volunteers, and by the end of the stay of the shrine in our country there were already 14,000 volunteers. To worship the relics of the saint, people waited in the long queue for eight or ten and even sometimes twelve hours. Sometimes someone from the elderly said, they say, you can go faster, but people answered: "No, we need to stand up." In these queues there were also members of the government, outstanding representatives of culture and science, and ordinary people. " "I think it is also very important that on the agenda of our bilateral relations there are topics related to the value of the family, moral issues," the Holy Bishop further said. - You, of course, are better than me, you know what is happening today in the spiritual life of Western civilization: religious values ​​are trying to displace people from everyday life and instead offer so-called secular values. We went through this: in the Soviet Union, too, religious ideas were ousted, and ideological values ​​were offered instead. And we know that very many seduced them and abandoned their faith. But experience shows: ideology does not live more than four or five generations. The historical context is changing - ideology is going away. Nobody expected that after four generations, during which life atheism was the main ideology in the Soviet Union, a religious revival would begin. I think that all of us today need to work so that, on a planetary scale, the strong faith of people again comes to replace ideology. " His Holiness recalled that the peacekeeping activities of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church is a very important factor contributing to the reconciliation of people. "This peacekeeping potential of the Churches should, in my opinion, be actively used today, when the world has become so restless when we all are approaching the terrible prospect of a global conflict. And that is why, of course, the churches today must work very hard together for peace and justice, "Patriarch Kirill emphasized. Honorary Archbishop-Metropolitan Trento Monsignor Luigi Bressan, addressing Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, thanked him for the opportunity to meet with the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church and shared his joy at the revival of faith in Russian society, which was demonstrated, in particular, in the veneration of the relics St. Nicholas during their stay in Russia. Speaking about the dialogue held in Trento, mentioned by His Holiness Patriarch Cyril, Monsignor Luigi Bressan, in particular, noted: "Thanks to the meetings of 1975 we discovered the iconography, which was largely forgotten, now we have our own icon painters who write icons , and we are developing this art in contact with the Russian Orthodox Church. " The Honorable Archbishop-Metropolitan of Trento also stressed the importance of Christian values, the values ​​of the family, about the importance of which the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church spoke during the meeting. "We pay great attention to this, because we believe that without the strengthening of the family we can not have a future," stressed Dr. Hugo Rossi, President of the Autonomous Province of Trento. Greeting His Holiness the Patriarch on behalf of all the inhabitants of the region, he said: "We were particularly touched by your memory of the visit to Trento in late 1975, when the friendship that has been going on so far began. As you could see during your visit, this is a small mountainous region, which is populated by a simple working people. Our province is an intermediary between the culture of the Mediterranean, southern culture and northern culture. " The President of the Province of Trento thanked the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the blessing of holding an exhibition of Italian Christmas Nativity Scene at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. "I think that this exhibition has become a bright event, which emphasizes the importance of developing a dialogue between the two Churches, as well as between the peoples," says Dr. Hugo Rossi.

Meeting of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the King of Jordan

February 15, 2018 in the Throne Room of the Patriarchal Chambers of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with King of Jordan Abdullah II bin al-Hussein. The meeting was attended by: the Jordanian side - the King's chief adviser on religious and cultural affairs, the personal envoy of Prince Gazi bin Mohammed, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jordan Ayman Al Safadi, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Jordan to Russia Amjad O. Adayle, the Director of the Political Department of Manar Dabbas, I.O. director of the media and communications Gais Al-Taravne; From the side of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Jordan B.F. Bolotin. From the side of the Russian Orthodox Church, the participants of the event were also Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk , the head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for Foreign Institutions, Archbishop Anthony of Vienna and Budapest , Archbishop Filaret (Bulekov) , deputy chairman of the DECR, and archpriest Sergiy DECR secretary for the Far Abroad Zvonarev. Turning to the high-ranking guest with words of greeting, His Holiness the Patriarch emphasized: "The Russian Orthodox Church attaches great importance to the dialogue that has been established with the leadership of Jordan, primarily with your Majesty." The uneasy history in the 20th century and the previous centuries has prompted the Russian people to take to heart the tragedies of other nations, stated His Holiness. In his opinion, terrorism is a huge challenge for all people of goodwill in modern conditions. "From the way terrorists act, it becomes clear that this is a global threat," said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. "First and foremost, this is a threat to the Middle East with its multicultural, multinational and multi-religious component, but terrorism also threatens virtually all countries of the world." His Holiness stated: the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in the face of this phenomenon lies in the fact that all countries must find the strength to overcome the ideological, cultural, political factors that separate them in order to be able to create a common front for the fight against terrorism. "After the events of September 11, 2001 in Manhattan, it became clear to many that this phenomenon should be fought together. Unfortunately, we do not see progress in this respect now, and the main countries that could deal a crushing blow to terrorism can not organize common actions. Some suspect that the reason is someone's attempts to use terrorism for their own political purposes. This is not just an erroneous, but very dangerous policy, and we already know what happened in this regard in a number of countries. " The Russian Orthodox Church, which is the Church of the Majority in a multinational state, attaches great importance to the development of interstate and interreligious dialogue to create a common front for the fight against terrorism, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill recalled. "We hoped that such a front would be created during the military operations in Syria against terrorists, but, unfortunately, this did not happen," stated His Holiness. "The Russian military and space forces, together with the government troops, have been doing their job and, as you know, very successfully. But other countries, having united in a coalition, did some kind of their work. The mere presence of two powerful armed groups in this territory that did not have the general coordination was an enormous challenge. There was a risk of large-scale military actions, any mistake could lead to a direct clash of representatives of nuclear powers. When I sensed this danger, I suggested to Pope Francis to meet immediately, although never in the whole history of the Patriarch of Moscow did he meet with the Pope ". His Holiness pointed out that during the meeting held in Havana, it was possible to agree on very important positions. "First of all, we drew attention to the dangerous situation that prevailed in Syria," the Patriarch emphasized. "Our common understanding is that those who are against terror should fight terrorism together, coordinating actions. From the fire of terrorism, you can not carry coals in your favor - this is a very dangerous and completely erroneous approach. " His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia mentioned that he recalled with gratitude the conversation with King Abdullah II of Jordan, held in 2012 shortly before the tragic events that subsequently broke out in Syria and Iraq. "I recall your story about interreligious relations in the territory of Jordan, about the peaceful coexistence of religions there," continued the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. - I was happy to see all this personally. In your country, both Orthodox and Muslims feel at home and on an equal footing, equal opportunities are open to them. " His Holiness also touched upon the current topic of the agenda for the reconstruction of the victims of the armed confrontation between Syria and Iraq, informing the interlocutor that the Russian Orthodox Church, together with the Russian Orthodox public organizations, rendered considerable humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people during the hostilities. "Since in Russia the Orthodox have very good relations with Muslims and Jews, we proposed that at the current stage this assistance be implemented jointly, so that Orthodox, Muslims, Jews, and representatives of other faiths can participate in these actions, which initially carried out only one Russian Church. And you can see that this expands the possibilities of rendering assistance and evokes in people more confidence in the organized actions, "said His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. His Holiness expressed hope that the process, initiated by the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi, is being implemented into concrete decisions. "We pray for the process to be successful, but we also understand that not everything is finished in terms of fighting terrorism in Syria and Iraq. There are events that are alarming, for example, unexpected shelling, including attempts to shell religious buildings. We are deeply convinced that the hardest stage of confrontation is behind us; now there is a lot to do to settle the situation in Syria and Iraq peacefully, "the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church said, thanking the monarch for his position on the issues raised. His Holiness noted the high level of interreligious dialogue and cooperation in Jordan, efforts to maintain it on the part of King Abdullah II, which follows the tradition of his parent, King Hussein. "You have not only strengthened this remarkable tradition, but have also developed very much already with reference to the challenges and problems of today," he said. Patriarch Kirill also shared his memories of visiting Jordan and meeting with King Hussein. Thanking His Holiness the Patriarch for the warm greeting, Jordan King Abdullah II said: "I was glad to hear your position regarding the challenges we face. To overcome them, we must join forces. Today's meeting gives me an opportunity to see again the confirmation of how strong the position of the Russian Orthodox Church is not only here, in Russia, but also in the world. Given the challenges that you mentioned, it's time for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder and talk about what unites us, stressing that the covenant of loving your Lord and your neighbor are the principles that unite us all, "the high guest . "Now your voice is needed more than ever in our part of the world," said King Abdullah II, addressing the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. "As you rightly pointed out, we are now fighting the terrible challenge that has hit the world - with international terrorism," the monarch continued. - As far as I understand, Russia started this fight much earlier than any of us. I must say that now this problem, this global challenge applies not only to the whole world, but, in particular, to the Christian communities in our region, in particular, in Palestine, and especially in Jerusalem. " "Orthodox Christianity was part of our past, is part of our present and must be preserved as part of our future. If we fail to achieve this, we will all have to pay a high price, "the King of Jordan stressed. He highly appreciated the role that the Russian Orthodox Church plays in Syria, helping the victims of the war and all the oppressed and weak. "We in Jordan also host our Christian brothers from Iraq and Syria who are fleeing from the threat of violence," the high guest noted, noting that his country not only helps forced people to leave their homes for Christians, but also helps to create conditions for the return of refugees back to their homes, communities that have many centuries of history. In particular, King Abdullah II mentioned that Jordan and Russia have managed to establish close cooperation in the matter of supporting the process of restoring peace and stability in Syria. "To paraphrase the old saying, one can say: in order for evil to triumph, it is enough that good people do nothing," stressed the monarch. "We must unite and overcome together the problems that we faced." At the end of the meeting, the parties exchanged souvenirs.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk: Man is not a puppet in the hands of God

On March 10, 2018, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk , the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, answered the questions of the leading television channel Ekaterina Gracheva in the program "Church and Peace" on the "Russia-24" channel on Saturdays and Sundays. E. Gracheva : Hello! This is the program "Church and Peace," in which we talk with the Metropolitan Volokolamsky Hilarion, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. Good afternoon, Bishop! Metropolitan Hilarion : Hello, Catherine! Hello, dear brothers and sisters! E. Gracheva : Vladyka, you attended the address of President Vladimir Putin to the Federal Assembly. This is not the first appeal you heard from the head of state. What are your impressions? Which theses made the greatest impression? How do you like the second part of this appeal, connected with the military power of our country, with our weapons? Metropolitan Hilarion : The media, first of all, concentrated on the second part of the appeal, which was largely addressed to the international community, and above all to the United States of America. The president very clearly spoke about who is responsible for a new round of the arms race. But as a representative of the Church, I would like to draw attention to the first half of the President's report, which was addressed primarily to citizens of our country and was socially oriented, that is, the President set very clear and ambitious goals for the country and the future government. One of these goals, which was voiced, is that by 2020 the growth rate of the Russian economy will outpace the world. This is indeed a very difficult task, because it requires mobilizing not only financial resources, but also human capital, about which the President spoke a lot in his speech. This applies to the demographic theme, and family support, and business support. The President said a lot about the fact that those people who are engaged in independent business should have appropriate conditions for the development of this business. The president touched on the topic of retirees. In short, the first part of the report, in my opinion, should open a new page in the history of our state, if what the President said will be implemented. E. Gracheva : In your opinion, at the moment there are no excesses in the internal policy of our country, say, in the direction of strengthening our defensive power, our weapons? So you are happy with the way priorities are distributed? Metropolitan Hilarion : I think that it is very important that the economic and financial strategy of the state be balanced so that there is no bank in either direction. It is very important that the state and the new government that comes after the election of the President be targeted specifically at people, so that the government first of all responds to the needs of people, taking them into account in their strategy, tactics and politics. E. Gracheva : Without weapons there would be no peaceful victories. And when the fraternal peoples did not have enough of their defense power, Russia was connected. Russia also helped with its armament. So, in particular, it was in the XIX century, when our country helped in the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke. Patriarch Kirill recently visited this country. Disappointment with the fact that they have now begun to share in nationalities those nations that participated in the liberation of the country - the Patriarch spoke about this at a meeting with President Rumen Radev. And how many countries now, according to the Patriarch, in the opinion of the Russian Orthodox Church, are inclined to rewrite the general history? Metropolitan Hilarion : To some extent this applies to all the countries of the so-called post-Soviet space and all the countries of the former Warsaw bloc, which today have almost unanimously joined NATO's military bloc. How does this rewrite history? If you take the example of Bulgaria, a few years ago at the celebrations on the occasion of another anniversary of the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke, Russia was not called at all. But in fact, Russia declared war on Turkey, it was Russia that liberated Bulgaria. And who is the monument in the very center of Sofia? Alexander II the Liberator, the Russian Tsar. Who on every Liturgy at the Great Entrance is commemorated for the repose? Alexander II, the King of Liberator. In the Russian army there were representatives of different nationalities. Romania contributed to the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke. But it was the Russian army that was the main force that ensured this victory. And when a lot of people gathered waving Bulgarian and Russian flags, greeting the Bulgarian and Moscow Patriarchs, it caused very positive emotions. But when, in the evening of the same day, something resembling a military parade was taking place near the monument to Alexander the Liberator in Sofia proper, there rhetoric was completely different. And there were mentioned different peoples, different states, which caused a fair criticism of the Patriarch, who saw in this the tendency characteristic of today's European Union. This tendency is precisely to silence Russia's role in such key events in European history as, for example, the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. E. Gracheva : At the same time, there is some ideological contradiction, because with the unwillingness of Eastern Europe to share our common history with us, it is the countries of Eastern Europe that consider Russia part of this general political system called "Europe." According to the latest poll conducted in February, half of the French and British (65 and 52 percent) said that in their opinion Russia is not a European country. In Germany, 46 percent agree with this. And in Poland, 77 percent of the population believe that Russia is Europe. That is, the more east, the higher the percentage. How do you explain this ideological discrepancy? Metropolitan Hilarion : Today the notion of Europe is very often applied exclusively to the European Union. Russia is not a member of the European Union, and judging by how events develop, it does not plan to join it. But Europe is not only the European Union. Europe is, above all, a cultural and spiritual identity. And it is impossible to imagine, for example, European art without the novels of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, without the music of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, without that colossal contribution that Russia has made specifically to the development of European, and not Asian culture. And those people who come into contact with this culture understand that Russia is part of that cultural space that we call Europe. E. Gracheva : The West has recently been increasingly inclined to keep silent about not only the military achievements of our country, but also sports victories. And yet, the Olympics in Pyeongchang will be strongly remembered by fans all over the world. For our country - it is, above all, a triumph in figure skating. This, of course, is a gold medal in hockey. Patriarch Cyril even commented on this victory and called it nothing but a miracle in a good way. Before the World Cup, there are less than a hundred days left. What to say, not so we are strong in football, like in hockey. Many fans are skeptical that it is only with God's help that you can win in this championship. Before the events that are responsible for the country, like the Olympics, as the World Cup, the Patriarch conducts some, perhaps, special prayer services? Metropolitan Hilarion : Our sports teams are often accompanied by priests. Priests are next to our athletes and when they train, and when they enter the field, and when they return from the field. This is not due to the fact that the Church is getting involved in a topic that is not peculiar to it, but because most of our athletes are believers. This was very clearly shown by the events of the last Olympiad. When our athletes, after an outstanding victory, contacted the Patriarch and he congratulated them, they asked for his blessings. And even those interviews that were shown on TV channels with our athletes often included the mention of God, of prayers, that is, it is clear that our athletes, at least the majority of them, are believers and people who perceive their work as a service to their Fatherland, and they ask God for help. And it is no coincidence that after the Olympics, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill served a thanksgiving service, because our athletes were in difficult conditions, and despite this, they with honor passed the test. E. Gracheva : Even Yelena Isinbayeva, who before every landing on her jump, prayed and withdrew from the press, did not communicate with anyone. Canadian athletes at this Olympiad also surprised and gave cause for discussion of the media. They sang a modified version of their hymn - a gender-neutral version, where the phrase "patriotism is the lot of your sons" was reduced to "our destiny." It would seem that this is a special case. But no. The FRGs go even further and make a curtsey towards the sex minority at the state level. The Commissioner for Gender Equality of the Federal Republic of Germany Christine Roze-Mehring calls for changing the text of the national anthem to gender neutral. Are you surprised by such news about Germany or not? Metropolitan Hilarion : I belong to a generation that remembers very well that such an influence of ideology on the development of the country, on its historiosophy, on morality, when certain ideological prerequisites are laid as a certain basis, and then on this basis laws, rules, and Literary works, cinema, and even musical art are obliged to adapt to this ideology. We are now observing the same thing in the European Union. And every time I visit this or that European country, I am convinced of this again and again. That is, those ideological stamps that now dominate the European consciousness, which are imposed through the media, through various kinds of propaganda, are based on a specific ideology. At its core, this ideology is godless. Moreover, in my opinion, this ideology is anti-human, because, for example, what is said today in Europe about the family, on the equality of the sexes, undermines the foundations of human life, undermines such a fundamental institution as a family on which the life of mankind has held for centuries . E. Gracheva : I must say that there are other examples. For example, the Prime Minister of Hungary called Christianity the last hope of Europe. Do you think that countries of the former socialist camp can unite in upholding traditional values ​​and generally unite on the basis of common faith, Christianity? Metropolitan Hilarion : I do not think that we can talk about the countries of the former socialist camp, because what Prime Minister Orban says is not ideology, but, in a good sense, political pragmatism. This politician is one of the few now in Europe who is well aware of what the policy of European states, including the migration policy, will lead to in the long term. This, in fact, is a suicide for that Europe, which was just created as something unified for several centuries. E. Gracheva : In Instagram there was an account, which is called the Patriarch's day. It promises to publish informal moments from the life and ministry of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. If Facebook is in the understanding of many - it's more communication and texts, and it's not a secret that many of the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church are active users of such social networks, then the Intragram is more images, pictures. Why does the Church want us to "spy" for the Patriarch? Metropolitan Hilarion : I do not think that someone will oversee the Patriarch, but the personality of the Patriarch is of great interest. People are interested in how the Patriarch behaves himself in everyday life, as he, for example, goes on walks, talks on the phone. I do not think that the whole life of the Patriarch will show this way, but, probably, on this account will show some moments from his life. E. Gracheva : We often talk about new products in the program, say, in the latest IT technologies. You are an active user of these systems. In general, you approve of this progress. I want to ask you: how do you feel about such applications as, for example, the voice assistant from "Yandex" "Alice", who even jokes can. It can be asked about God, about religion. "Alice, are you fasting?" - "Now yes. And what? "-" What faith do you profess? "-" It is better for you not to know. " "Do you believe in God?" - "I do not want to offend anyone, but not very much in Zeus and Apollo." What do you think about this "company" for the elderly and single people? Metropolitan Hilarion : I think that such applications are useful only if, for example, a person is lost and wants to know the way. Then this voice assistant can take him somewhere, that is, he can be useful as a kind of reference book. But I think it will be wrong if you start with such a robot communicate the way you communicate with people, ask about moral, religious issues, share your feelings, emotions, experiences. In the second part of the program, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk answered the questions of viewers who came to the website of the program "Church and Peace". Question : If God knows the future, does this mean that our destiny is predetermined? Metropolitan Hilarion : No, this does not mean that fate is predetermined, because the Divine omniscience is one thing, and our free will is another matter. I will give a simple example. Mom says to her son: if you go to the street without a hat on a cold day, you will catch a cold. The boy does not put on his hat, returns home with a cold. Is this foresight or predestination? On the one hand, mother knows her son well, she knows how he can act and knows what the consequences will be, and she tells him about it. On the other hand, it is in his power to put on a hat or not to wear a hat, obey Mom or not. This is a simple everyday example, but it illustrates our relationship with God. God foresees how we can act, but that does not mean that we should do just that. For example, Jesus Christ told the apostle Peter that when He was arrested, Peter would deny Him three times. But this did not mean at all that Peter had to renounce. Jesus just knew him very well. He knew about his infirmity, weakness, how he would react to the events that would occur, but the action itself depended on Peter himself: he could remember the prediction of Jesus and not renounce, but he still denied it. God sees the future as the present. But this does not mean that our future is predetermined. Our life consists of several components: one is the will of God, the other is our human will. If our will is in harmony with the will of God, then everything goes as God ordained us. And if our will is in conflict or in conflict with the will of God, then we ourselves are responsible for the consequences. God made man free. A person is not a puppet in the hands of God. Nothing is predetermined in human life. A lot depends on us. In order to learn the will of God, we must pray, read the Gospel, and in the situation of choice each time ask ourselves: but how would Jesus Christ have acted in my place?

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk spoke in Tokyo at the opening of the conference "Saint Nicholas of Japan and Innocent of Moscow: Culture of the Peoples of Russia, Japan and America"

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk spoke in Tokyo at the opening of the conference "Saint Nicholas of Japan and Innocent of Moscow: Culture of the Peoples of Russia, Japan and America" Митрополит Волоколамский Иларион выступил в Токио на открытии конференции «Святые Николай Японский и Иннокентий Московский: культура народов России, Японии и Америки» print version November 9, 2017 11:08 November 8, 2017 in the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Japan, an international scientific church-practical conference "Saints Nikolay Japanese and Innocent Moscow: the culture of the peoples of Russia, Japan and America", dedicated to the 220th anniversary of the birth of St. Innocent (Veniaminov), celebrated this year, , Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, Apostle of Siberia and America, spiritual instructor of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in the framework of the Russian Seasons humanitarian project with the support of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, with the assistance of the Russian diplomatic mission in Japan and the representation in Tokyo of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, compatriots living abroad and internationally humanitarian cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo). The Conference was addressed by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Japan E.V. Afanasyev, who in his greeting noted the importance of this church-science forum, clearly emphasizing the spiritual foundations of Russian-Japanese relations. The report "Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan and Saint Innocent of Moscow - Saints, Connecting Nations", Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk , Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, opened the conference. Addressing the audience, the archpastor stressed: "This meeting provides an opportunity to turn to the spiritual sources of ties between Russia, Japan and America - the countries of the Pacific region, which is based on the Orthodox faith that was brought to this part of the world by Russian missionaries. Our meeting in Japan takes place in the year of the 220th anniversary of the birth of the faithful son of the Russian Orthodox Church, an outstanding missionary, nicknamed for his missionary works by the apostle of Siberia and America, St. Innocent of Moscow. It was St. Innocent, having 40 years of experience in the apostolic ministry, who managed to show Nikolai (Kasatkin), a very young, 24-year-old priest, in which direction to exert efforts, on what to concentrate his works, so that his chosen service to the Japanese people would yield positive results . St. Innocent began his missionary journey in 1823. While still a married priest, John Veniaminov, he was the only one not afraid of the difficulties and, together with his family, went to the far North American continent to educate local residents. And the Lord rewarded him not only with his seven children in the flesh, but also with tens of thousands of spiritual children enlightened by the light of Christ's faith. Preaching among the small nations the Gospel, he simultaneously studied their language and culture, way of life and customs, their religious views. Thus, he created the Aleut alphabet on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet, compiled and published the first Aleutian alphabet, formulated the basics of the grammar of this language, and translated the Gospel, the catechism and the most common prayers and church songs. After the death of his wife, Archpriest John received in 1840 a monastic vows with the name Innokenty and Bishop's Dignity, continuing to serve the cause of enlightening the peoples of Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, North America, Yakutia, Khabarovsk Territory. For almost half a century, Saint Innocent was given to the apostles' feat in the harsh conditions of the North, which is associated with great dangers to life. " Metropolitan Hilarion noted the loyalty of St. Innocent to the missionary vocation for the rest of his life: "He was 70 years old when he was transferred to the Moscow department, but there he did not leave his concern for the mission ... Thanks to the support and care of the saint was established in 1870 and the Japanese an Orthodox spiritual mission led by Archimandrite Nicholas (Kasatkin), the future Equal of the Apostles. In the same year, at the request of Metropolitan Innokentii, the Yakut and Viluysk, Aleut and Alaskan dioceses were opened. Saint Innocent understood the whole need for episcopal ministry for new missionary territories on which the invisible building of the Church of Christ was erected, and therefore advocated the creation of a separate Japanese department and the appointment of Archimandrite Nikolai (Kasatkin) as bishop there, but did not live just a few months before that, having died in 1879 ". Observing the life path of both saints of God, the DECR chairman also noted their contribution to scientific knowledge about the cultures and customs of the countries where the Lord judged them to preach the word of God. "Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai wrote in a letter to Saint Innocent that:" For many years I ... was attracted to science by my field; Japanese history and all Japanese literature - absolutely untouched treasures - it is necessary to scoop up whole handfuls, everything will be new, interesting in Europe, and work will not be wasted. " Indeed, the writings of St. Nicholas became a new scientific word in Russian oriental studies and a true bright event in the scientific literature of the time, "the archpastor said. However, the preaching work was an absolute priority, Vladyka Hilarion emphasized: "St. Nicholas exerted every possible and impossible effort for the Japanese to create their own spiritual world, their Church. In this endeavor, the continuity of the missionary school of St. Innocent (Veniaminov), which was distinguished by openness, accessibility, simplicity of communication, softness and tolerance towards people, and the desire to give scope to their creativity and initiative were clearly visible. " Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk ended his speech with the words of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Sergiy (Stragorodsky) , who once served the mission of Orthodoxy in Japan: "Orthodoxy is the most Christianity in its entirety and simplicity ... As a gift of the sky, not of the human mind , it is above the world and is not determined by it, but on the contrary, it wants to rebuild the world. Consequently, even here in the East, Orthodoxy, of course, can enter ... into the national consciousness, how it could enter Europe, and it will also become a true ... Japanese faith, as in Europe it became the faith of the Greek, Russian, etc., - let only its primeval purity is not indignant ". The head of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Tokyo and All Japan Daniel , Archbishop of Sendai Seraphim , Rector of the Nikolo-Ugreshskaya Theological Seminary Hegumen John (Rubin), priests of the Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church, Moscow Region , St. Petersburg , Kasimovskaya and Rzhevsk dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, researchers and teachers of the Institute of the Far East Russian Academy of Sciences, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University named after MV Lomonosov, the Moscow Conservatory, the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and the Nikolo-Ugresh Seminary. For the participants and guests of the conference was shown the film of Metropolitan Hilarion "Orthodoxy in Japan". The film and its version in Japanese were created with the participation of the charity fund of St. Gregory the Theologian, which provided an opportunity to give each participant of the conference a specially prepared disc with the documentary work of the DECR chairman. Within the framework of the conference, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk presented to the second secretary of the Russian Embassy in Japan, D.N. Shakure is the jubilee medal of the Russian Orthodox Church in honor of the 1000th anniversary of the reign of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, who was bestowed on him by His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia for assisting the efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church to normalize the position of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church . At the end of the forum, Metropolitan Hilarion, accompanied by Hieromonk Nicholas (Ono) and an employee of the DECR, D.I. Petrovsky visited the church in honor of the prince Alexander Nevsky in Maguro - the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Tokyo. Archpriest Nikolai Katsyuban greeted the archpriest in the church. On the same day, the Ambassador of Russia to Japan, E.V. Afanasyev gave a dinner in honor of the DECR chairman, in which the Metropolitan of Tokyo and the whole of Japan, Daniel, Archbishop of Sendai Seraphim, DA Counselor-Ambassador took part. Birichevsky, Archpriest Nikolai Katsyuban, clergyman of the Resurrection Cathedral in Tokyo, Archimandrite Gerasim (Shevtsov), counselor Yu.V. Saplin-Sila-Novitsky and a member of the DECR, D.I. Petrovsky.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk headed the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the project "Collection of works of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan"

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk headed the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the project "Collection of works of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan" Митрополит Волоколамский Иларион возглавил первое заседание Попечительского совета проекта «Собрание трудов равноапостольного Николая Японского» print version 19 March 2018 17:49 On March 16, 2018, the first meeting of the Board of Trustees of the research and publishing project "Collection of the works of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan" took place in the assembly hall of the Church-wide post-graduate and doctoral studies of St. Cyril and Methodius in Moscow. The project is carried out on the initiative and under the direction of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. For the successful implementation of the project, the Board of Trustees is organized in the church and government figures, representatives of the scientific and cultural community of Russia and Japan. The first meeting of the Board of Trustees was attended by: Metropolitan Hilarion , Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Rector of the All-Church Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies; Volokolamsky Hilarion , Chairman of the Board of Trustees; Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky; rector of the Nikolo-Ugreshskaya theological seminary Hegumen John (Rubin); the founder of the group of companies "Belaya Dacha", the head of the public movement "Rus Orthodox" Viktor Semenov; Adviser to the Chairman of the Board of PJSC Bank "FC Otkritie" Sergey Kharlamov; Yuri Pulya, head of the department for the periodical press, book publishing and printing of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, as well as members of the editorial board of the publication. Opening the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion thanked all those gathered for attentive attention to the legacy of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas and for agreeing to join the Board of Trustees. Vladyka reminded those present that 2020 will be marked by the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Spiritual Mission in Japan, as well as the 50th anniversary of the canonization of its founder, St. Nicholas of Japan, Equal-to-the-Apostles. Appeal to the materials about the life and activities of the Apostolic Nicholas, Archbishop of Japan, "is, first of all, an attempt to touch the rich inner world of a holy man who, according to God's all-purpose plan, succeeded in enlightening the Japanese islands with the unfading light of the Orthodox faith, which became the source of the spiritual connection between Russia and Japan ". The archpastor stressed that "since the sphere of interests of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas was not limited to strictly religious topics, the publication will also be of scientific interest to researchers studying the phenomenon of socio-cultural development of Russia and Japan, interstate relations of the two neighboring countries and simply everyday life of two neighboring peoples ". Metropolitan Hilarion told about the tasks that the participants of the project are setting for themselves. According to him, the collection of the works of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan is "a large-scale project, the purpose of which is to publish all the epistolary heritage of St. Nicholas that has been revealed so far, as well as the accompanying activities of the Equal-to-the-Apostles." The edition will consist of 10 volumes: 1-2 volumes - official correspondence; 3 volume - private correspondence; 4 volumes - speeches, sermons, articles; Volume 5 - related documents; 6-10 volume - the diaries. All 10 volumes will be published in Russian and Japanese. Each volume will be accompanied by a vast historical, geographical and biographical commentary. Vladyka Hilarion noted that "at present the publishing group is fully prepared to publish the first two volumes of collected works, which mainly consist of previously unpublished archival materials discovered as a result of purposeful scientific and research activity." Russian Deputy Minister of Culture Alexander Zhuravsky underlined the importance of this project for the cultural and public life of Russia and Japan and wished success to all its participants. The rector of the Nikolo-Ugreshskaya theological seminary Hegumen John (Rubin) thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for agreeing to lead the work of the Board of Trustees and donated to the Archbishop Hilarion the icon of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan. A presentation of the project was presented to the Board of Trustees, under which hegumen John spoke about the structure of the publication and the materials planned for publication. He also said that the completion of the main part of the project is planned for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the glorification of the saints of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nicholas of Japan. During the discussion of the presentation, the members of the Board of Trustees made a number of proposals for the organization of further work. The meeting approved the composition of the editorial team of the publication, which will conduct research and prepare for the release of a multivolume collection of works of Equal-to-the-Apostles Nikolai of Japan.

The Word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill after the Liturgy in the Moscow Church of the Archangel Michael at the clinics at Devichi Field

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! During the first week of Lent, many Orthodox Christians daily visited the temple. The most zealous and free from other worries came in the morning and in the evening, plunging into the marvelous atmosphere of Lenten services, which have a very strong influence on our spiritual state. Those who pass through this field note that at the beginning of the journey it is very difficult - four hours in the morning, two hours in the evening, - but by the end of the first week, despite natural fatigue, they testify to an absolutely remarkable spiritual experience. Every day enriches us with thoughts, every day strengthens us in prayer, every day brings us closer to Christ. For reflection we are invited to read psalms, prayers, among which the special place is occupied by the prayer of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian "Lord and Master of my belly". It is read many times during the services, and during this week, I, together with the worshipers, meditated on the themes of this prayer. We talked about the spirit of idleness, despondency, celibacy, idle talk; the spirit of chastity, humility was also subjected to our comprehension. And today I would like to share with you my thoughts on what is patience. The third request of the second part of the prayer of St. Ephraim is just a request to give us a spirit of patience. Without patience there can be no hope, says St. John Chrysostom, and hope is the hope of salvation. There is no hope for salvation. And after all, St. John Chrysostom teaches so not only from his wisdom - he speaks from spiritual experience, and the spiritual experience of the shepherd, especially the archpastor, develops through the addition of spiritual experiences of many who turn to him, who confess their sins, who write letters, who believe in the hidden things. And John Chrysostom, the spiritual leader of ancient Constantinople, who possessed an indisputable spiritual authority, spoke first of all with those who turned to him their inquiries. The words that without patience there can be no hope, no hope, make us also think about what patience is. Surely everyone had to meet in life with a patient person who can with willpower endure physical pain. Especially often doctors face both those who start screaming even before they were touched by a syringe, and with those who are ready to suppress unbelievable physical pain with their will. Many control emotions precisely by will power. A person comes into conflict, feeling that he is being provoked into an inadequate reaction, and he would very much like to respond to the offender properly, but he is restrained by will and will, realizing that this reaction will be misinterpreted or will be harmful to him. This kind of patience, which is supported by willpower, has nothing to do with the Christian virtue of patience. These are different phenomena. It can not be said that the patience generated by willpower is bad - very good! But in this case it is not a matter of educating the will, but of virtue, without which there is no hope of salvation. It is quite obvious that such virtue can not be a strong-willed effort in response to a certain challenge addressed to a person-it would be too flat, too primitive. The thought of St. John Chrysostom is much deeper. If he connects salvation with patience, then patience is something completely different. What then is patience? Clenched teeth and cheekbones? Compressed fists? Tense muscles? Not at all! Patience is a state of mind, and this state is in no way connected with strong-willed efforts in response to the evils we just mentioned. A person is patient, if in his heart there is peace, joy, light. We leave the temple of God, especially after the sacrament of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, - in our soul there is joy and peace. And if something happens that would evoke negative emotions in the usual situation, now everything goes away and dissolves in some wondrous spiritual depth. This is the Christian patience. Christian patience is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, this is spiritual life, when negative reactions, anger, irritability, anger have simply no place in the human heart. The reaction to external stimuli is different - both anger and irritability, and the desire to respond as rigidly as possible to the offender, as painfully as possible to hit him. And what happens at this moment in our heart? Is it calm? No. It is brought into a state of incredible excitement. Here is a simple example. A person comes to work in a very good, calm state of mind, and someone destroys this state. Most often we react as our offender programs. He knows for sure that we will be annoyed that we will be angry, that we will begin to build a strategy for combating it, although we have never had anything of the kind before. And if we respond to anger with anger, evil thoughts, then the offender has won us. He invaded our spiritual world and destroyed it. His anger, his evil thoughts, he brought into our consciousness, into our soul, made us think about the response. He broke our peace. And who is the winner? Is he! Even if we did not do anything in response, he already won, - embarrassing us, depriving us of the inner world. But if we live by divine grace, just as we live after the communion of the Holy Christ's Mysteries, then no hostile force can break our inner peace. This is patience without clenched cheekbones and without clenched fists, with an open heart and an open mind. This is a great power capable of crushing evil. It is about such patience that we ask the Lord in the words of the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, and let the Lord help us to gain this greatest virtue in order to have not only hope, but also salvation itself. Amen.