Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with the Primate of the Malancar Church

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with the Primate of the Malancar Church Митрополит Волоколамский Иларион встретился с Предстоятелем Маланкарской Церкви print version September 2, 2019 10:33 On September 1, 2019, on Week 11 at Pentecost, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the rector of the Church Graduate School and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk performed the Divine Liturgy in the Moscow Church of the Holy Martyrs and Confessors Michael, Prince Chernyan the boyar of his Theodore, miracle workers. The temple is part of the complex of the Chernigov Patriarchal Compound, in the buildings of which the post-graduate and doctoral studies are located. The Divine Liturgy was consecrated by the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia under the Patriarch of Great Antioch and the whole East, Father Superior Arseniy (Sokolov), Vice-Rector for Development of the Center for Academic Studies, Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeikin), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Center for Orthodox Studies, Hieromonk Pavel (Cherkasov), Vice-Rector of the Center for Orthodox Studies Archpriest Mikhail Nemnonov, DECR secretary for interreligious relations, Secretary of the Academic Council of the OECD Priest Dimitry Safonov, vice-rector for scientific work at the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary priest nickname Nikolai Shcheglov, staff and students of the OKAD in the holy dignity. The Primate of the Malancar Orthodox Church (India), His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II, attended the service. During his official visit to Russia he is accompanied by: Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malankarskaya Church; Metropolitan Johanon Mar Dioscoros, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Malancar Church; Priest Abraham Thomas, Secretary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malancar Church; Priest Asvin Zefrin Fernandez, Head of the Protocol Service of the Holy Catholicos; Priest Jiss Johnson, Personal Secretary of the Holy Catholicos; Jacob Matthew, member of the Church Council of the Malancar Church; Kevin George Cauchy, Head of Communication Services, External Church Relations Department, Malancar Church; Dr. C. Ipen, Representative of the Malancar Diaspora in Russia. The delegation is also accompanied by the DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), and the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations, R. A. Akhmatkhanov. The service was attended by employees, members of the faculty and students of the OKAD. After a pure litany, Vladyka Hilarion offered a prayer for peace in Ukraine. At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Hilarion addressed a message of greeting to the Primate of the Malancar Church, His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas II. The DECR Chair, in particular, said: “I cordially greet you, Your Holiness, in our church on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. You visited the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988 as the bishop of the Malankarsky Church, accompanying a delegation led by the Catholicos, and you had the opportunity to get in touch with the life of our Church in those years. Now you can familiarize yourself with the current life of the Russian Orthodox Church. Over the past 30 years, our Church has changed beyond recognition. If in the Soviet years we had a little more than 6,000 parishes in the entire Russian Orthodox Church, today we have almost 40 thousand parishes. This means that for 30 years we opened a thousand temples annually. We then had only 20 monasteries, and today there are almost a thousand. And these monasteries are now filled with young monks and monks. If in Soviet times we had only three theological seminaries, then today there are already more than 50 of them. It was impossible to imagine that theology was taught in secular educational institutions, and today it is taught and officially recognized by the state as a scientific specialty. We have the opportunity to issue diplomas recognized by the state to our graduates. You can see all this and much more with the members of your venerable delegation with your own eyes. Today I accept you at the Church Graduate School and Doctoral School - an educational institution that was created a little over ten years ago on the initiative and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. His Holiness is the chairman of the supervisory board of our institution. Here we educate graduate students and doctoral students, many of whom then become priests, some as bishops, and someone goes to secular work in order to carry the spirit of Christianity to the people with whom they work. The task of our educational institution is to educate a new generation of clergy, church workers, church diplomats and workers in the field of church education. ” At the end of the word, Metropolitan Hilarion presented the Primate of the Malancar Orthodox Church with the image of the Savior. In his turn, His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II thanked the DECR chairman, expressing hope for the continued successful development of relations between the Malankarsky Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. “The Malankar Orthodox Church had very deep and close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church three decades ago,” said His Holiness Catholicos Paul II in particular. His Holiness also mentioned the translation by Dr. Cherian Ipen of “Goodloving” into the Malayalam language, which is used in the Malankara Church. This edition is distributed freely, free of charge and is popular not only among Christians, but also among Hindus. Remembering his visit to Russia in 1988, when he was the youngest bishop of the Malankarsky Church and as part of her delegation took part in the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas II said: “We could then see how alive faith in Russia was and how many believers are here. ” “We experience great joy and pleasure visiting your theological school,” said, in particular, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malankara Church, Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos, addressing Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Thanking Vladyka for the hospitality, he also expressed hope for the development of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankarsky Church. Then the guests visited the building of the General Church Graduate School and Doctoral School named after Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius. In the office of the rector, a meeting took place between Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II. The meeting was attended by a delegation of the Malankar Church accompanying His Holiness the Catholicos in Russia. On the part of the Russian Orthodox Church, the DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), Vice-Rector for Development of the Central Orthodox Church, Hieromonk John (Kopeikin), and the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations, R.A. Akhmatkhanov. Metropolitan Hilarion greeted the guests on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, introducing them to the activities of the Department for External Church Relations. Speaking about the history of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Malankarsky Church, Vladyka made special mention of the significance that the works of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) and His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill when he was chairman of the DECR, had for them. In response, the Primate of the Malankar Church thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for the warm welcome and expressed his desire to develop at the new stage bilateral between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankar Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos noted that the tragedy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century and its revival are an example of how the Church can overcome difficulties and become stronger. The parties discussed possible ways of cooperation in the academic field. The Rector of the OCAD spoke about the specifics of the post-graduate school curriculum and about its international experience, in particular, about the scope of the inter-Christian Summer Institutes. The Malankar side expressed gratitude for accepting Deacon Anup Raju for study at the Regency Department of the Moscow Theological Academy in 2018, and expressed interest in developing cooperation in the academic field. The members of the delegation of the Malankara Church thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for his book “The Sacrament of Faith,” an English translation of which is used in India as a textbook by students of theological schools of the Malankara Church. The parties also discussed other possible areas of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankar Church. In conclusion, Metropolitan Hilarion emphasized that today there is every opportunity for the development of bilateral contacts and the strengthening of relations, which the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate will do its best to facilitate.