В.Путин.Встреча с Патриархом.27.05.04.Part 1

Meeting with Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexii II and Metropolitan Lavr, First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.Part 1 May 27, 2004 Novo-Ogaryovo Встреча с Патриархом Московским и всея Руси Алексием Вторым, Первоиерархом Русской Православной Зарубежной Церкви митрополитом Лавром и архиепископом Берлинско-Германским и Великобританским Марком 27 мая 2004 года Ново-Огарево PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN: Your Holiness, dear guests,Allow me to wish you a warm welcome here to the Moscow Region. I am very pleased that the different parts of the Russian Orthodox Church are drawing together in such a positive way. I will not say the two churches because in the Russian peoples mind the Russian Orthodox Church is one. I am very happy to see that following our meeting in New York, the clergy that stood up for, defended and spread the ideas of Orthodoxy beyond Russias borders have finally come to the Russian Federation, seen with their own eyes or seen once again, for some the positive process of our peoples spiritual renaissance.I followed your visit with attention and I can imagine that our guests are satisfied with the very full programme a very complicated and difficult programme too, it is true that was drawn up and practically fully realised. I have no doubt that this will benefit the Church and benefit Russia.I welcome you from all my heart and I give you, Your Holiness, the floor. Please. ALEXII II: I would like to give you my sincere thanks for finding the opportunity to receive our guests and ourselves as delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church abroad comes to the end of its programme here in Russia. You extended the invitation while visiting New York, and now this historic event has taken place.As I have already said several times, this is the first time a delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, headed by the First Hierarch, has visited Russia, the first time such a visit has not been incognito. Previously, such visits were made incognito, while now our guests have had the chance to truly become acquainted with the life of the Russian Orthodox Church today, to attend services, to pray with us together and to see our Orthodox people who are returning to their spiritual traditions.The programme was a very full one. In just a short time, only a week, the delegation visited Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Sarov, Diveyevo, St. Petersburg and Kursk.I met with the entire official delegation, with the pilgrims, today at 1 p.m. They were all in a very positive mood and the programme did not exhaust them, rather, it gave them inspiration. That is how it seemed to me.I think our guests will have their own words to say, but everywhere they went they were struck by the peoples desire to serve God and by the revival of spiritual life. They noted this in their addresses. They said that here they will speak quietly of their impressions, but back home, before their own flocks, their own parishioners, they will speak loud and clear about what they saw, what they witnessed here. I think this truly bears out the words that it is better to see once than to hear many times. We are grateful to Metropolitan Lavr and his entire delegation because their visit took place in a spirit of openness, goodwill, mutual understanding and the desire to come closer together and find ways to overcome the difficulties that arose as a result of the tragic events of the 1917 revolution and the civil war that forced millions of our compatriots to leave the country. The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad took care of their spiritual needs over this time. We lived through difficulties of our own, as did they. Metropolitan Lavr said to me at the Ascension Cathedral, on Ascension Day, What churches you have! Ours are small. But within these churches could always be found love for the Motherland, love for Russia and this Orthodox faith that was handed down from generation to generation. I think that the first generation, the generation that left Russia, would be happy now. But it is now the second and third generations that are making the return journey, coming back to and uniting with the Motherland and the Russian Orthodox Church.In the documents we emphasised that the Church is one, and you also spoke these words. The Church is one only circumstances divided us. Let us hope that this is only a temporary situation. Thank you for taking the first step and passing on my invitation for the delegation to visit the Russian Orthodox Church, and thank you for finding the time to receive our guests today.