Meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with President of the Evangelical Association Billy Graham

Meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with President of the Evangelical Association Billy Graham March 5, 2019 On March 5, 2019, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with President of the Evangelical Association Billy Graham William Franklin Graham at the Patriarchal and Synodal residence in the Danilov Monastery in Moscow. The meeting was attended by the Vice-President of the Evangelical Association of Billy Graham Victor Gamm. From the side of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, DECR Chairman Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and Archimandrite Filaret (Bulekov), Deputy Chairman of the DECR, participated in the meeting. Welcoming the guest, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church mentioned the previous meeting held in October 2015. “The world has changed a lot during this time, it’s impossible to say that it is for the better,” Patriarch Kirill stated with regret. “I think the more difficult the relations, including between our countries, become, the more responsibility lies with Christians to change the world for the better.” Christians have such potential and it should be realized especially when it becomes difficult. ” His Holiness Vladyka also noted that the father of Franklin Graham, the founder of the Evangelical Association Billy Graham, came to Russia in Soviet times, when the relations between the USSR and the USA experienced a difficult period. “Dr. Billy Graham was a friend of the Russian Orthodox Church. We keep a very good memory of him. We once again express our condolences to you on his death, ”said His Holiness, addressing his son. “Yesterday you visited our General Church Graduate School , where a round table was held on the peacekeeping role of Christians in today's global and regional conflicts,” continued His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, reiterating that the more complex the political context, the more responsibility believers must assume taking an active position, participating in the life of society and seeking change for the better. “Once again I want to recall the difficult years of the Cold War, when it was possible to reverse the situation, including with the active participation of the Christians of the East and the West — the Soviet Union and the United States. Therefore, I believe that now is the right time to unite our efforts in the field of peacemaking, ”said His Holiness. In the course of the conversation, His Holiness Patriarch touched upon the problem of spiritual and moral values ​​of modern society, which cannot but disturb Christians. According to his testimony, in the 20th century, during the years of the “cold war,” it was “concern for the moral state of society” that was one of the important factors that contributed to the establishment of good relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Western Christian world. “The commitment to a Christian understanding of marriage, family, and the sacred life of a person from the moment of conception is such a principled and consistent position, shared by the Evangelical Billy Graham Association and you personally, evokes the unwavering support of the Russian Orthodox Church,” said the Primate. The moral component must always lie at the basis of human existence, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill expressed confidence. According to His Holiness, the struggle for the integrity of the human person is now a strong challenge for Christians. “But, unfortunately, Christians are divided on these issues. Therefore, it is so important to those Christians who have a principled agreement in understanding how these problems should be solved, create a system of cooperation and interaction, ”said His Holiness. His Holiness Patriarch also noted with regret that one of the main problems of the Russian society, which the Russian Orthodox Church is now actively engaged in, is the problem of abortions. “In 2016, we initiated the collection of signatures with the requirement to remove abortions from the compulsory health insurance system. It turns out that people who disagree with abortions, of which there are a lot of them, support the payment of these procedures with their taxes. This petition was signed by more than a million people in our country, ”said His Holiness. According to the Primate, the Russian Orthodox Church today actively supports all measures to reduce the number of abortions in our country: “Representatives of our Church act as counselors in those institutions where women turn to have abortions. And where possible, our counselors (in most cases, women) meet with women who want an abortion before they make the final decision. ” The Primate of the Russian Church also noted that one of the most frequent reasons pushing many young women to an abortion is the lack of support, and not only financial, but primarily moral, when, for example, parents insist on abortion if conception occurred. out of wedlock “Therefore, I call upon the episcopate of our Church not only to fight abortion verbally, but also to help improve the living conditions for women who, under the influence of our services, refuse to have abortions,” said His Holiness. - I suggested to our bishops to organize in the dioceses shelters for women who literally have nowhere to go after they have given birth to a child, or they have a place to go, but they run the risk of being strongly criticized by their relatives. For this category of women, we open church shelters so that they can live with us for as long as they want - a week, two, three, a month or even more. Then we try to help them find a job and get the opportunity to support themselves and their child financially. Most of our dioceses already have such shelters. ” Patriarch Kirill gratefully referred to the joint work of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Association Billy Graham to provide humanitarian assistance to refugees from Ukraine: “In 2015, we carried out a joint project to deliver humanitarian aid to people affected by the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. Then a large number of humanitarian kits were received, which we distributed to the needy. ” The head of the Russian Orthodox Church also thanked Franklin Graham for organizing the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, held in 2017 in Washington. “Like my meeting with Pope Francis in February 2016, the Summit attracted world attention to the problem of persecution of Christians,” said His Holiness. Patriarch Kirill spoke about the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria: “In April 2017, by my blessing, the Inter-religious working group was established to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian population of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation, which included both Christians and Muslims in our country. Help is distributed in churches and mosques jointly by Christians and Muslims of Syria and Russia. ” “Our Church also launched an initiative to help children affected by the hostilities in Syria. An expert group of Russian doctors visited refugee camps in Lebanon, examined children and a large number of children from Syrian families, especially orphans, were taken for treatment in Russia, ”the Holy Lord noted. According to His Holiness, during the time that the Russian Orthodox Church works in the Syrian sector, it has accumulated a unique experience of trusting relations with all representatives of the Syrian state and the Russian military in Syria, which allows for the most targeted and effective humanitarian activities. Patriarch Kirill also expressed confidence that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Association Billy Graham, who has vast experience in helping Christians in different regions of the world, could later unite efforts and start implementing joint projects in the Middle East. “There are many places in the world where people suffer. This is a challenge to our Christian conscience. And where necessary, we should unite our efforts in order to bring people peace and tranquility, to render assistance to those who suffer, ”concluded the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In turn, U.F. Graham thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the opportunity to meet and congratulated His Holiness on the 10th anniversary of the enthronement. W.F. Graham supported the position of the Russian Orthodox Church on abortions, calling abortion "one of the great sins" of the modern world. “Your idea to make shelters for women with children is wonderful. Some organizations in the United States have also successfully organized something similar. And they have saved many lives, ”said Billy Graham, President of the Evangelical Association. Speaking about the different areas of inter-Christian cooperation, Graham, in particular, mentioned the need for joint efforts to assist refugees from Syria. “Yesterday we had a discussion with Metropolitan Hilarion. We discussed how we can work together, how we can help children affected by the war in Syria. We have experience in these matters. We understand what needs to be done, ”said Franklin Graham. The president of the Evangelical Association, Billy Graham, also made a proposal to hold the next Summit in defense of persecuted Christians in Moscow. “The summit in defense of persecuted Christians, held in 2017 in Washington, was very successful. But we need to continue, since the topic of persecution of Christians is still on the agenda, ”stressed William Franklin Graham.