His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq Святейший Патриарх Кирилл встретился с членами Совета лидеров христианских Церквей Ирака print version November 21, 2018 22:35 On November 21, 2018, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with members of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq at the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. From the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq, the meeting was attended by the Archbishop of Iraq (Armenian Apostolic Church), Secretary General of the Council of Leaders of the Christian Churches of Iraq Avak Asaduryan, Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwaiti Gattaz Hazim (the Antiochian Orthodox Church), Archbishop of Mosul, Kriska and Kurdish Archbishop of Kurkut and Kurdish (Greek Orthodox), Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk and Kurdish Islamic Church, Archbishop of Moslem, Kirkuk and Kurdish Iraqi, Archbishop of Moslem, Kirkuk and Kurdish Kurdish Daoud Sharaf (Syrian Orthodox Church), Bishop of Erbil Mar Abris Johanna Tyari (Assyrian Church of the East), Protopresbyter Sami Younan Alfred Ibrahim (Antioch Rights glorious Church), a representative of the Coptic Church in Iraq abbot of Mina al-Orshalemi. The meeting was also attended by DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), a member of the DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations monk Kirill (Peregudin), representative of the Assyrian Church of the East, rector of Maryam Mat in Moscow chorbishop Samano Odishi, member of the secretariat for inter-Christian relations, DECR R. BUT. Akhmatkhanov, First Secretary, Iraq and Jordan Department, Middle East and North Africa Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Yu. E. Lapshina. Welcoming the guests, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill shared his memories of his visit to Iraq in 2002. “I visited Baghdad, Mosul, visited temples, monasteries and saw the rich spiritual life of your people. Soon there was aggression against your country, the armed forces entered and, of course, peaceful life changed. Economic sanctions followed, and Iraq endured many tribulations, ”said His Holiness. The Primate of the Russian Church noted with regret that it was not only Iraq that fell victim to foreign aggression. He noted that in modern geopolitical conditions, a state that has a global or regional influence often invades a weaker state, leading to chaos, a migration crisis and a humanitarian catastrophe. “The example of Iraq is one of the most dramatic examples of what foreign aggression turns the country into. When I visited Iraq, I was told that more than a million and a half Christians live in this country. They say that now there are ten times fewer Christians, ”said His Holiness Vladyka. According to Patriarch Kirill, in addition to aggression, enormous damage was inflicted on the state and the people by extremist militants in Iraq, who abducted clergy and laity, and destroyed Christian churches. The primate recalled that the Russian Orthodox Church has always raised its voice in defense of the Christian population of Iraq. “We greatly appreciate that, despite the difficult situation, our Church is developing ties with the Christians of the Middle East,” His Holiness noted. - Most recently, on my instructions, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, visited Damascus, where he took part in a high-level interfaith meeting. It is very important now to develop inter-Christian ties precisely in order to, first of all, support the Christian population of the countries of the Middle East. Of course, we attach great importance to the programs of humanitarian assistance to your region. In particular, this concerns Syria, but we are ready to develop appropriate activity with regard to Iraq. ” His Holiness also spoke about the visit to Iraq of a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), and the representative of the Assyrian Church of the East in Russia, the choreiskopist Samano Odisho, which took place in March of this year. The purpose of the trip was to intensify the interaction of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Christian Churches and other religious communities of Iraq in response to requests from them in the context of the efforts undertaken by the Moscow Patriarchate in supporting the people of the Middle East who suffered as a result of the tragic events of recent years. His Holiness also mentioned his meeting with the delegation of the Yezidi people, which took place in October of this year in the Patriarch and the Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery. “We are competing with the Iraqi people who are suffering such pains today, suffering from the consequences of foreign aggression and civil war,” said the Patriarch. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed serious concern over the destruction of Christian shrines in Iraq. “We are very worried about what happened, including in the Nineveh Valley in Iraq, where there are many Christian cities whose temples were destroyed or desecrated,” he said. - I was told that 90 percent of Christian buildings were destroyed in the city of Batnaia. This is truly a civilizational disaster. And at a time when the world is concerned about the topic of human rights, the protection of religious minorities, such iniquities occur before everyone’s eyes. All together, it is very important for us to do everything necessary so that the Middle Eastern Christian shrines will be restored, and Christians will return to Iraq, as well as to Syria and other places where they always lived and where they were expelled by war or civil conflict. ” In turn, the Archbishop of Iraq, Secretary General of the Council of Leaders of Christian Churches Avak Asaduryan (Armenian Apostolic Church) addressed the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with the words: “First of all, I would like to thank you, Your Holiness, for the meeting and for your readiness to start talking about our problems . We are very grateful for your position and support of the Christian brotherhood. ” The archbishop also said that today the situation of the Iraqi people in humanitarian terms still remains dire due to the ongoing violence. “The issues we face today are how to preserve our churches in our homeland, how to stop violence, how to promote equality and justice. We believe that one of the answers to these questions is that we should consider ourselves not as individuals, but as members of a unified society. Our Christian Iraqi society is a symbol of peace and calls for renewal and reform, ”he stressed. The Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk and the Kurdish Autonomous Region Mar Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf (Syrian Orthodox Church) conveyed to His Holiness the greeting from Patriarch Mar. Ignatius Ephraim II and said: “We feel here, communicating with you as our father. It is important for us to feel that the Russian Orthodox Church thinks and worries about its Iraqi brothers. Unfortunately, in recent years we have been abandoned by all. We thank your Holiness for paying attention to our needs. Thank you for the fact that in the spring of this year you sent a representative to us, hieromonk Stefan, with whom we had constructive negotiations, and now accept us in Moscow. We see this as a guarantee of the continuation of our cooperation. ” Bishop of Erbil Mar Abris Juhanna Tyari (Assyrian Church of the East) expressed the hope that the favorable role of Russia in Iraq will increase and become as beneficial as in Syria. Hegumen Mina al-Orshalemi, representative of the Coptic Church in Iraq, emphasized that in the East they always remember that the Russian Orthodox Church has always helped Christians in the Middle East and protected the oppressed for centuries. Metropolitan of Baghdad and Kuwaiti Gattaz Hazim (Orthodox Church of Antioch) conveyed greetings from the Primate of the Antioch Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East, X. And I, in particular, said: “I would like to convey the gratitude and love of the Syrian people for what they did. Orthodox Church and from the Russian state. We are witnessing the dangerous challenges that the Russian Church and the Orthodox world as a whole are meeting. Our people pray for Russia, for the Russian Orthodox Church and look at it with great hope. ” The meeting participants also expressed special gratitude for the organization of this visit to the Russian Embassy in Baghdad and personally to the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Iraq M.K. Maximov and the staff of the Embassy. At the end of the meeting, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill emphasized that the Russian Orthodox Church stands in solidarity with the people of Iraq, and its contacts with Iraqi Christians should certainly be continued, which will allow them to go to specific projects related to rendering assistance to them.

Patriarch's sermon on the feast day of St. Tikhon and the fathers of the Local Council of 1917-1918 after the Liturgy in the home church of St. Tikhon's University

Patriarch's sermon on the feast day of St. Tikhon and the fathers of the Local Council of 1917-1918 after the Liturgy in the home church of St. Tikhon's University Патриаршая проповедь в день памяти святителя Тихона и отцов Поместного Собора 1917-1918 годов после Литургии в домовом храме Свято-Тихоновского университета print version November 18, 2018 23:18 On November 18, 2018, on the 25th Pentecost, Memorial Day of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, and Fathers of the Local Council of the Russian Church 1917-1918, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill celebrated Divine Liturgy in the home church of the holy Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir Orthodox St. Tikhon humanitarian University . At the end of the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the believers with a sermon. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost! Today we heard the Gospel reading (Luke 8: 41-56) about two events that are associated with the manifestation of the same human feeling: this is the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, the head of the synagogue, and the healing of a bleeding woman. Indeed, at the base of both events, to which the Lord responded with His miraculous power, was a very important human feeling — a feeling of hope. Without hope, neither the daughter of Jairus would not be resurrected, nor the bleeding woman would receive healing. What is hope? We very often use this word, but, probably, very few people, thinking about the concept associated with it, would see a very close, deep connection with another word - the word “faith”. In Dahl’s excellent dictionary, we can read that hope is an expected certainty — this is the exact wording of our remarkable scientist. So what is confidence? The word "confidence" is the same root as in the word "faith." There can be no confidence without faith. Expected confidence is hope, which cannot exist without faith. Therefore, the word “hope” loses all meaning outside the religious context, because without faith in God there can be no hope. And what could be? Maybe a dream. Open the dictionary Dahl - what is a dream? Clear definition: a game of imagination. Expected confidence and play of imagination. How far the meaning of these concepts! Indeed, in our confidence, in our hope, there is always faith. And, as St. John Chrysostom remarkably said, he who sticks to God will not stumble. Indeed, a person will not stumble if he puts his life in the hands of God, if his hope is impregnated by faith, if he lives in union with God. Then his wings grow, he becomes really strong and capable of many deeds, including great ones. Today's gospel reading testifies again and again how close God is to man, how merciful the Lord is. The Savior is ready to go to the home of the ruler of the synagogue to resurrect his daughter, and does not refuse to help the unfortunate woman who clung to His clothes, but pours His grace on the one that placed His last hope on Him. Hope does not disgrace (Rom. 5: 5) when it is really connected with faith. Modern people who often say “I hope” need to clearly understand that without God and without faith there is no hope, but only a dream, a game of imagination. And how our lives will be poorer, how interpersonal relationships will become poorer if hope leaves them! It is often said: hope dies last, and this is true, because hope is connected with faith in God. Today we remember St. Tikhon, the Patriarch of All-Russia, with whom this place is closely connected both in its history and today: in honor of Patriarch Tikhon our famous university was named, which did so much and does to educate our people, to educate the Orthodox intelligentsia, for training for both the Church and secular works. Can we imagine the feat of Patriarch Tikhon, if he had lost hope? Or the feat of our new martyrs, confessors, those who were shot in Butovo, who were imprisoned in Solovki and other places? Could they know that their torture and death would be known to the whole world — when the whole world was restricted for them by the torture chamber or the interrogation room? But each of them had hope for God. Perhaps, their hope that they would come out of these cells to freedom did not come true. But the Lord prepared for them something else, fulfilling their hope to the full. Their death became the seed for modern Christianity, especially in our country. Because it is impossible to be indifferent to the feat of the new martyrs and confessors of our Church. It is impossible not to think about the strength of their spirit, about the strength of their faith, about the victory they have accomplished over their persecutors and tormentors. Therefore, the celebration of the memory of St. Tikhon, the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian Church is, above all, the glorification of the hope that they lived and which they, through their feat, commanded to all of us. Hope dies last, and she never dies with a Christian, because we hope not only that the Lord wisely rule our lives, but also that by His mercy, in response to our repentance and our desire to live in accordance with His law, He will open for us the gates of eternity. Amen.