Orthodox and Catholic churches become closer
Last December, the Western press once again wrote about the possibility of a personal meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Kirill, but the Russian Orthodox Church and secular analysts refused to make forecasts. The reconciliation of the two churches seemed unlikely then, but the situation has changed and a historical meeting may take place soon.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has a positive view of the pontific, as evidenced by his recent interview with the Ukrainian media. Journalists asked the patriarch about dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
"We are optimistic about the position of Pope Benedict XVI," Patriarch Kirill told Ukrainian journalists. "Liberal theologians and the Western media may criticize him, but his stance coincides with the opinions of the Orthodox Church on many social and moral issues."
The staff of the Patriarchy is searching for venues of practical cooperation with western Christians. Just over a week ago, Hegumen Philipp (Ryabykh), deputy chairman of the Moscow Patriarchy's Department for External Church Relations, met with Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, to discuss the possibility of joint efforts to promote Christian values in Europe, including with the Jesuit experience in religious education.
One more opportunity for rapprochement between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican is the working group of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church established in Poland to prepare a document on the two churches' contribution to Russian-Polish reconciliation.
A new stage in relations between Polish Catholics and the Russian Orthodox Church began in April 2010, after the death of President Lech Kaczynski in an air crash near Smolensk. Patriarch Kirill said then that the memorial at Katyn is a place for a common prayer.
The Russian authorities, which are fighting the falsification of World War II history and the attempts to use Stalin's crimes to scale down Russia's influence in Europe, have proposed that the Russian Orthodox Church should lead the European movement for reconciliation and also provide an adequate assessment of the Soviet heritage to wring the weapon from the Polish, Ukrainian and other nationalists.
"Some fear that recognizing the sins of the Soviet past would affect the dignity of modern Russia," Hegumen Philipp said before the 70th commemoration of the tragedy at Katyn, where the NKVD secret police executed about 22,000 Polish officers and intellectuals in 1940.
"But modern Russia is a different country; it made its choice in 1991 and changed the course of its history," Hegumen Phillip said. "It was an instance of historical repentance, when Russians denounced state atheism and monopoly on ideology."
