"Orthodoxy-Islam" was held in the capital of Iran.

print version 10 May 2018 11:27 On May 5-7, 2018, the eleventh session of the Joint Commission on Dialogue "Orthodoxy-Islam" was held in the capital of Iran. This year's meeting was devoted to the theme "Religions and the Environment". Meetings within the framework of this commission are held once in two years alternately in Moscow and Tehran. The composition of the delegation was approved by the Holy Synod at a meeting on March 7 this year. ( Journal No. 9 ): Metropolitan Theophanes of Kazan and Tatarstan , head of the delegation; Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of the Nikolaevsky Cathedral in Tehran; Archpriest Lev Semenov, Head of the Theology Department of the Moscow State Linguistic University, Head of the Spiritual and Educational Center of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University ; priest Dimitri Safonov , secretary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate for Interreligious Relations; priest Alexy Sorokin, acting. rector of the temple of the blessed Xenia of Petersburg in Beskudnikovo, Moscow; A.I. Osipov , Honored Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy ; О.Р. Kalimullin, consultant of the Department for External Church Relations; E.V. Dunaeva, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Metropolitan Feofan on a trip to Iran was accompanied by the rector of the Kazan temple of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Archpriest Alexy Kraevsky. On the night of May 4, the delegation arrived in Tehran. The delegation was greeted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Iran L.S. Jagaryan, the first secretary of the Embassy of S.A. Sushkov, head of the Center for the Dialogue of Religions and Cultures of the Organization for Culture and Islamic Relations of Iran (MoH) Mohammad Mehdi Tashiri and the staff of the JIU. On May 5, the church delegation arrived in the building of the Center for the Dialogue of Religions and Cultures of the OICS, where it was accepted by the head of the OIKS Abuzar Ebrahimi Torkaman. During the conversation between Metropolitan Feofan and the head of the JINR, issues related to the long-standing dialogue between the two religious communities and the prospects for its development were discussed. At the end of the meeting, the participants exchanged souvenirs. Then the first session of the meeting of the dialogue commission began. It was held under the chairmanship of the Metropolitan of Kazan Feofan and the head of the OICS A. Ebrahimi Torkaman. The opening session was attended by Iranian Vice President, Head of the Environmental Protection Organization Isa Kalantari, Ayatollah Ali Tashiri, members of delegations, staff of the JIU, staff of the Russian Embassy in Iran, representatives of the press and the scientific community of Iran. Metropolitan Theophanes read the greeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the participants of the dialogue and gave it to A. Ebrahimi Torkaman. In his report, the head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church dwelled on the Orthodox understanding of the problems of the ecological crisis. He stressed: "It is important to cultivate a culture and respect for the environment at all levels of society, from schoolchildren to businessmen and politicians. This transformation of society is impossible without the participation of traditional world religions, such as Orthodoxy and Islam. " In his speech Dr. Abuzar Ebrahimi spoke about the importance attached to this meeting in Iran, described the problems of ecology from the point of view of the organization he headed. He stressed that he sees particular importance in developing a dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church. Until 2014 A. Ebrahimi headed the cultural representation at the Embassy of Iran in Moscow and is an expert in Russian language and culture. Iran's Vice-President Isa Kalantari spoke about the importance attached to the problems of ecology in Iran. Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of the Nikolaevsky Cathedral in Tehran, invariable participant of all meetings on dialogue with the Islamic community of Iran, made a report on the topic "Environmental activities as a component of the external activities of the Russian Orthodox Church." Then came the speech of the assistant to the President of Iran on the issues of ethnic and religious minorities, Khojat al-Islam Ali Junesi. The head of the Iranian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church (Cilician Catholicosat) Archbishop Sebukh Sargsyan warmly welcomed the participants of the meeting. He heads the largest Christian community of Iran - the Armenian-Gregorian, which ranges from 70 to 90 thousand people. The meeting was also attended by the head of another Christian community of Iran - Bishop Ramzi Garmu (Chaldean Catholic Church). At the end of the first day of the forum, Dr. Mostafa Mohakkek Damad and Professor A.I. Osipova. The report of the Russian theologian titled "Where is the modern man going?" Aroused the special interest of the participants in the meeting. Aleksey Ilich pointed out that the origins of the ecological crisis are rooted in the most modern man. He stressed: "Now it is becoming increasingly clear that humanity, even with all the benefits of civilization, will soon perish, unless it preserves, or more accurately, restores the integrity, the soundness of the nature of its own soul. That is, the environmental problem is, first of all, a spiritual problem, not a material one, and its core is the state not only of the environment, but mainly of the person himself. The solution of this problem, from a religious point of view, has two main vectors. The first corresponds to the specificity of religious understanding of spiritual life and the activities of man and society. The second is connected with those ideological tendencies and manipulations of consciousness in the modern world, which represent the greatest danger for man. " The second session began on the afternoon of May 6, after the Divine Liturgy, performed by Metropolitan Theophanes in the Nikolaevsky Temple of Tehran. The meeting began with the presentation of a long-term participant in the dialogue with the Iranian side of the Hojat of Islam, Dr. Ahmad Beheshti, the rector of one of the religious institutions of the city of Qom, which was called "Environmental ethics from the point of view of Islam and Christianity." The report was translated into Russian in advance and distributed to the participants of the meeting. After Dr. Bekeshti's speech, the opportunity to speak was again provided to AI. Osipov, in view of his special respect for him and because of the fact that on the first day of the sittings his speech was not heard in full. The speech of the professor of the MDA aroused a lively dialogue of the parties, revealing the common position, which boils down to the fact that religions should cultivate spirituality in a person, and without such education, the overcoming of the ecological crisis will be impossible. After the presentation of Dr. Moshkena Esmaili, who proposed a philosophical understanding of the problems of ecology, a detailed presentation of the OVC consultant O.R. Kalimullina on the topic "Modern environmental issues and the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of ecology". Then came the lecture of Professor of Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Sayed Hasan Eslami Ardakani on the topic "Islamic Environmental Ethics of Virtue: Theoretical Foundations and Practical Benefits". A member of the church delegation is a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Dunaeva presented the report "The Role of the Academic Communities of Russia and Iran in Promoting the Ideas of Green Economy (on the Example of the Ecological Complex of the Caspian Water Basin)"; the report was read in Farsi. The third day of the dialogue, on May 7, began with a speech by Dr. Abdulhasan Nawab, rector of the University of Religions and Denominations (Kum). In the report of the head of the theology department of the Moscow State Linguistic University, head of the Spiritual and Educational Center of the PSTU, Archpriest Lev Semenov, candidate of historical sciences, "Ecological problems in the Orthodox vision", the connection between the biblical understanding of the right attitude of man to the environment and the relevant sections of such important documents as "The Basics of the Social Concept of the Russian The Orthodox Church " (2000), " Foundations of the doctrine of dignity, freedom and human rights " (2008) and " The position of the Russian Orthodox Church on the urgent problems of ecology " (2013). On the Iranian side, Dr. Shahin Avvani spoke. Priest Alexy Sorokin, rector of the Moscow church of the blessed Xenia of Petersburg in Beskudnikov, who recently defended the thesis of candidate of theology in biblical botany at the post-graduate and doctoral studies of St. Cyril and Methodius, made a presentation on "Nature in the Sacred Scripture of Christians: the Biblical Flora". The secretary for interreligious relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, priest Dimitry Safonov, spoke about the Russian experience in interreligious cooperation, in particular, about the activities of the Interreligious Council of Russia , whose executive secretary he is. In conclusion, Father Dimitri pointed out the importance of developing religious education, which serves as an effective tool for overcoming extremism. At the final meeting, a final communiqué was adopted. In the document, the participants of the meeting emphasized that followers of world religions should promote the careful use of natural resources in accordance with the teachings of these religions. Speakers noted that nature is an important foundation of human existence and spoke of protecting the environment as an expression of gratitude to the Creator. Both sides were in agreement that the processes of development of technologies and economy in the modern world should be carried out without causing damage to the environment. The document noted the significant role and responsibility of religious leaders and their followers in the matter of their influence on persons making practical decisions in the sphere of the relationship between man and nature. The communique also states that the next meeting of the commission will be held in Russia in 2020. In his closing speech, A. Ebrahimi Torkaman thanked the members of the church delegation for active work, and the secretary of the DECR for interreligious relations, the priest Dimitri Safonov, presented a commemorative gift in recognition of the work on the preparation of this dialogue. Metropolitan Theophanes, in turn, noted the unprecedentedly high level of participation in the forum from the Iranian side and thanked Mr. Ebrahimi Torkaman for the hospitality and level of the organization of the event. The meetings of the forum aroused considerable interest in the Iranian media, dozens of Iranian scholars dealing with religious studies, as well as post-graduate students and students of Iranian universities attended the meeting room.