Patriarch Kirill: Reunification of Western European Parishes of Russian Tradition with Mother Church is Result of Hard Work

Source: DECR
Pravmir.com team | 18 September 2019

On 15th September 2019, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia celebrated the Liturgy at the Church of St. Olga, Equal-to-the-Apostles, Patriarchal metochion in Ostankino, Moscow. Speaking at a brotherly repast which followed the divine service His Holiness expressed his joy over the decision taken the day before concerning the return of the Western European parishes of Russian tradition to the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church.

“Great changes have recently taken place in the life of the Church,” His Holiness said, “And the fact that today we are celebrating the remarkable event of reunion of the last piece of the Russian émigré community with the Moscow Patriarchate is not only an achievement of church diplomacy. First and foremost, it is the result of radical changes the Russian Orthodox Church has undergone over the recent years: <…> great many churches, incredible parochial activity, unprecedented in the modern-day Christian world, successful development of social, youth, educational and missionary ministry thanks to the efforts of our clergy and laity – people concerned about the future of the Church.”

“And the second factor is that our country has changed beyond recognition. Had not these changes occurred in the life of Russia, had the image of our country remained the same as several decades ago, there would have been no reunification,” Patriarch Kirill continued.

“Both the Church and the country have changed, thus creating prerequisites for this reunion. What happened yesterday is the result of hard work carried out by our whole nation, including our politicians, our scholars, our intelligentsia – all those working for the good of our homeland, to the glory of Russia. And I thank God that the image of new Russia and the image of the Russian Church are becoming more and more attractive,” His Holiness concluded.

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.