The meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the Secretary-General of the United Nations mp

The meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the Secretary-General of the United Nations Состоялась встреча Святейшего Патриарха Кирилла с Генеральным секретарем Организации Объединенных Наций print version June 20, 2018 21:34 June 20, 2018 in the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow hosted a meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Gutteres. On the part of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Deputy Chairman of the DECR, Protopriest Nikolai Balashov , and a member of the DECR Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, deacon Andrei Titushkin took part in the meeting. From the side of the UN, the meeting was attended by: UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Head of the UN Office for Counter-Terrorism V.I. Voronkov, Senior Advisor for Political Affairs of A. Guterres F.Yu. Klimchuk. From the side of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York V.A. Nebenzia, head of the department of the Department of International Organizations S.V. Ryabokon. Welcoming the distinguished guest, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill noted that the Russian Orthodox Church treats the activities of the United Nations with great attention and respect, realizing that this is the main platform in the world for a multilateral dialogue in which each country has the opportunity to express its position. "We live in troubled times. Particularly worrying is the growth of terrorism around the world and deep civil conflicts that arise from time to time that destroy the stability of the state and society, Patriarch Kirill stated. - All this can not but cause concern. We can not help but worry about the situation that develops between rich and poor. This whole dramatic history developed very rapidly during the 20th century, and it seemed that humanity would find ways to solve this problem. But experience shows the opposite. " According to His Holiness, people had a hope that everything will change for the better in the 21st century, but, unfortunately, even taking into account many positive changes in the modern history of human civilization, there are still a number of problems that modern society can not overcome . "Of course, the Church has its own answer, why all this is happening," the Most Holy Sovereign said with certainty. - Unfortunately, this answer is not shared by everyone today, but it is fundamental: everything happens because evil results from the human heart. It is impossible to ignore the crisis that is taking place in the sphere of the moral life of modern mankind. Therefore, the Church's participation in international affairs should be aimed at awakening in people's consciousness that without the internal moral renewal of the human community and every human person it is impossible to achieve real progress, including in the elimination of conflicts on our planet. " During the conversation, His Holiness the Patriarch also stressed the plight of Christians in various regions of the world, in particular, in the Middle East, where the Christian population is threatened with total extinction. "At the very beginning of the conflict in Syria, I visited this country," Patriarch Kirill said. - The conflict was already beginning, there were terrorist actions, but I found it necessary to come to Damascus and Lebanon to meet with Christians and discuss the situation with them. I can testify that different Christian confessions and Muslims lived peacefully with each other. When I came to Damascus, and then to Beirut, thousands of people - both Christians and Muslims - met me. And I was very pleased to see that level of interaction between representatives of the two communities. " His Holiness expressed concern that a large number of Christians left Syria today. "I think it is very important to do everything for Christians to return to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, to ​​the lands where they lived and where they were actually expelled by military actions and terrorist actions," said His Holiness. "The Russian Orthodox Church stands together with other Christian communities in defense of persecuted Christian minorities. We can testify that among Christians - Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants - there is widespread awareness of the need to do everything possible to stop the dangerous trend of the disappearance of Christians from the territory of the countries of the Middle East, "Patriarch Kirill emphasized. "By implementing the program of assistance to the victims in Syria and other areas of the Middle East, we are trying to interact not only with our Catholic and Protestant brothers, but also with our Muslim community," said His Holiness, noting the high level of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and representatives other religions. During the conversation, His Holiness the Patriarch also touched upon the problem of family values ​​in modern society. "Of course, we are very worried about the crisis of family relations. Unfortunately, today there is such a phenomenon as aggressive secularism. Under his influence weakened, and in many countries family relations are destroyed. This can not but cause great concern, "His Holiness said with alarm. According to Patriarch Kirill, if the moral nature is destroyed, then mankind will not stop anything from the most terrible steps and actions, the result of which can be its self-destruction. "The preservation of morality is the guarantee of the preservation of peace on our planet," the Most Holy Vladyka expressed confidence. "It is guided by these thoughts that we consider it necessary to actively participate, including in the discussion of international problems." In turn, the UN Secretary-General thanked the Primate of the Russian Church for the opportunity to meet and discuss pressing issues of contemporary international life. "In order to strengthen trust between countries within the global community, the role of religion is very important. That's why I'm glad of our meeting today, "A. Guterres said. He also expressed concern about the situation of Christians in the Middle East. "Christian communities are an integral part of the very identity of this region. They existed there long before the appearance of Islam, "stressed the UN Secretary-General. "I am deeply convinced that after the situation in Iraq and Syria stabilizes and a diplomatic solution is found, it is very important to ensure the return of Christians and, in general, religious minorities, such as the Yezidis, to their homeland. This question personally worries me very much. "