A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 21 - Tuesday, May 25th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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The Orthodox Christian News Service |
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METROPOLITAN LAURUS: READY FOR DIALOGUE Pravoslavie.ru, 13 May 2004 - On the eve of his first official visit to Russia, which begins 14 May, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia [ROCOR], Metropolitan Laurus, gave in exclusive interview to Interfax. --Your Eminence, what do you expect from your upcoming arrival in Moscow? --The goal of my visit is to meet with the primate of the Russian Orthodox church of the Moscow patriarchate, His Holiness Alexis, patriarch of Moscow and all-Rus, and with members of the Holy Synod and to become personally acquainted with the state of affairs in Russia's church life. If God grants, I will be accompanied by priests of our emigre Russian church who will nurture the Orthodox Russian people who are scattered throughout the world. Besides official meetings, it is planned to make a pilgrimage to the site of the murder of the tsarist family in Ekaterinburg, as well as to other shrines of the fatherland. --How do you view the path of approach of the two parts of the Russian Orthodox church? --The current meetings should determine subsequent joint work of the two church commissions whose task is to work out possible solutions of problems that arose in the past and the conclusions of the commissions, in their turn, will lay a foundation for further practical steps. In so doing the emigre Russian church is striving for the achievement of mutual recognition between the parts of the single Russian church that have been torn apart by tragic experiences and for overcoming all disagreements in the spirit of repentance, conciliarity, and brotherly love. Judging by everything, both parts of the Russian church are ready for an honest and constructive dialogue. Nevertheless the work of both church commissions, in my opinion, will be difficult and the process of healing all of the wounds dealt to the body of the Russian church may turn out to be a rather long one. But if they proceed in the spirit of the church, then, in the words of the holy prophet and king David, "mercy and truth will meet together and righteousness and peace will kiss." --In your view, who is hindering the reconciliation of the two parts of the Russian church, and why? --I can speak on this matter only with respect to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. We have now raised the fourth generation of clergy, but there still remain people who remember the persecution of the Russian Orthodox church in USSR, who in their own personal experience suffered and witnessed the persecution of the faith and the church, and for whom it is still difficult to comprehend the essence of the changes that are happening in Russia.
But we will not prevent our flock from expressing
their opinion with regard to what is happening. We
hope, however, that in time they will be convinced
of the radical changes and will recall that
repentance is able to heal all earlier wounds.
(tr. by PDS) |
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