Moscow.- Archbishop Demetrios of America and the members of the official delegation concluded their official visit to the Russian Orthodox Church on Wednesday, May 28th, by visiting two of the most famous monasteries in Moscow. The evening before their departure, the Archbishop and the members of the delegation were received by the Mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzkhov, who has been Mayor for over 15 years.
The delegation was welcomed to the Mayoral Official Residence, a 200 year old structure just a short walk from the Kremlin by the Vice-Mayor of Moscow, Valery Vinogradov. Vice-Mayor Vinogradov introduced His Eminence and the delegation to Mayor Luzkhov. The Mayor then, accompanied by press and staff, led the Archbishop and the delegation into the Ceremonial Hall of the Mayoral Residence for a formal welcome, refreshment and discussion. The Hall is dominated by a huge symbol of St. George the Trophy-Bearer, the patron Saint of Moscow, and copies of important Classical Greek sculpture. In the dialogue that followed, both the Mayor and the Archbishop commented on the importance of the reconstruction of the Christ the Savior Cathedral, a project in which the Mayor had been deeply involved. The Mayor gifted the Archbishop with a commemorative crystal bowl featuring the Cathedral, and the Archbishop reciprocated with a silver commemorative plate from the Archdiocese.
The following day of their departure, the Archbishop and members of the delegation were received at two of the most important monasteries in Moscow, the Danilov and the Donskoy. The Danilov, or St. Daniel Monastery, is the oldest in Moscow. The Archbishop was welcomed by the Abbot of the Monastery, Archimandrite Alexy, and given a tour of the Monastery Churches. Following this visit, the delegation departed the hotel for the Donskoy Monastery, which houses the relics of the Patriarch of Moscow, Saint Tikhon, who was at one time the Russian Orthodox Primate of North America.
The Archbishop and delegation, accompanied by clergy of the Moscow Patriarchate, were received with flowers by Bishop Alexander of Mitrof, and the Abbot together with Hieromonks. The Archbishop was escorted into the main church, where a special Service of Thanksgiving was chanted before the relics of St. Tikhon.
Following the service, the Archbishop was led on a tour of the famous Donskoy Monastery Cemetery, which includes 19th century tombs of Pontian Greeks, as well as a few examples of the original monumental statuary that survived the destruction of Christ the Savior Cathedral.
Following the tour of the Donskoy Monastery, the Archbishop was accompanied to the airport by Bishop Alexander and representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate.
AT THE DUMA
Archbishop Demetrios was received at the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Monday, May 26th, together with the accompanying Hierarchs and members of the delegation. Before the official visit to the parliament of the Russian Federation, the Archbishop, accompanied by officials of the Moscow Patriarchate, visited the Central Hospital of the Moscow Patriarchate, a Church philanthropic institution restored to Church ownership only in the last decade.
The Archbishop introduced the members of the delegation one by one, saving for last Mrs. Aphrodite Skeadas, Treasurer of National Philoptochos, who made a presentation of $25,000 to the hospital. In her remarks, Mrs. Skeadas gave greetings on behalf of the more that 27,000 women of Philoptochos throughout the Archdiocese of America. Offering in her address these words of explanation of the purpose of the organization to the very attentive young women of the “Sisters of Mercy” high school program, she said:“The women of Philoptochos aspire to their mission and honor their devotion to our Risen Lord by using their faith, gifts, abilities, compassion and love to improve their families, their Orthodox communities, contemporary society and the world”.
Following the presentation of the Philoptochos gift to the Hospital, the more than 100 young women of the “Sisters of Mercy” program chanted – to the delight and surprise of the delegation – the famous hymn of St. Nektarios of Aegina, “Agni Parthene,” (in Greek) in honor of the day. The students then came forward one by one to receive the blessing of the Archbishop, and the delegation proceeded to a tour of the Hospital while “Christ is Risen” was chanted.
After the visit to the hospital, the delegation departed for the State Duma, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, where the Archbishop was received by the Deputy Chairman, Liubov K. Sliska and various members and officials. As Deputy Chairman Sliska welcomed the Archbishop and the members of the delegation in a formal Hall of the Duma, she spoke of the great honor – both to herself and to the State Duma, to receive for the first time “the Representative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.” She thanked the Archbishop for his visit and expressed great appreciation for his prayers and the prayers of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in connection with the reunification of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR). She spoke with great praise for Patriarch Alexy, and his leadership of the resurgence of the Russian Orthodox Church. She also expressed her hopes that the visit of the Archbishop to Russia would contribute in a positive way to the relations between the United States and Russia.
The Archbishop spoke of the importance of the historical relations of Russia and United States, and stressed the support of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for many of the issues that are important to the Russian people. The Archbishop also expressed deep satisfaction at coming to this center of government, the State Duma, and finding such a deep commitment to the Orthodox Faith.
In the evening, the Archbishop and the delegation were guests of Patriarch Alexy at a concert and performance in the Auditorium of Christ the Savior Cathedral. The performance, including music, poetry and dance, were a continuation of the celebration of Slavic Letters Day. The Archbishop sat with the Patriarch throughout the evening, and accompanied him to a reception afterwards.
PATRIARCH ALEXY
Archbishop Demetrios of America and the members of the official delegation of the Archdiocese were received by Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and All Russia on Tuesday May 27th at the Official Patriarchal Residence inside the Danilovsky Monastery, the first Monastery founded in Moscow.
Before the 1:00 p.m. meeting with the Patriarch, the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate had arranged with the government for the Archbishop and the delegation to receive a private tour of the Grand Palace inside the Kremlin. This vast palace contains the official government ceremonial halls that have been used for state occasions throughout Russian history, as well as the private apartments of the Tsars and their royal chapel.
After returning from the Kremlin, Archbishop Demetrios led the delegation on the short walk from the Danilovsky Hotel to the Official Patriarchal Residence. There, precisely at 1:00 p.m., he was received by Bishop Alexander of Mitrof, Vicar Bishop to the Patriarch in charge of prison Ministry, Archimandrite Alexy, Abbot of the Danilovsky Monastery, and Protopresbyter Nikolai Balashov, Secretary for Inter-Orthodox Relations. These officials of the Moscow Patriarchate conducted His Eminence and the members of the delegation to a reception room where Patriarch Alexy warmly greeted the Archbishop, the Hierarchs and all the members of the delegation. After this initial greeting, the Patriarch escorted the Archbishop and all the members of the delegation into the Patriarchal Throne Room, where a table had been set up to accommodate all the members of the delegation and the Patriarchʼs staff. Members of the media, including numerous reporters, television crews and photographers busily recorded the beginning of the meeting.
The meeting was divided into two sections; the first portion was an opportunity for the entire delegation to participate with mass media present. The second was a private meeting between the Patriarch and the Archbishop reserved for the Hierarchs and staff.
The Patriarch formally welcomed both Archbishop Demetrios and the members of the delegation and in his opening remarks, Patriarch Alexy thanked the Archbishop for the concelebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Dormition Cathedral in the Kremlin. He welcomed His Eminence “as a son of Thessaloniki” (the birthplace of Sts. Cyril and Methodios), noting the shared faith of the Greek and Russian nations. The Patriarch concluded his welcome by stressing the importance of the visit of His Eminence as the Exarch of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, adding “whom we wholeheartedly love.” After extending his greetings to the other Hierarchs, Patriarch Alexy welcomed Metropolitan Methodios, Metropolitan Alexios and Bishop Savas as “esteemed pastors and spiritual leaders for the United States,” and the remainder of the delegation.
In his talk that followed, Patriarch Alexy spoke of the process of the restoration of the Russian Orthodox Church after decades of minimal survival. He spoke of the difficulty of restoring the souls of the people as being the greatest challenge to the Church, adding that the role of the Church in society: in philanthropy, youth work, care for the elderly and chaplaincies for the military and in prisons is being restored. As an example of this restoration, he said that since 1990, 700 oratories (chapels) have been constructed in prisons throughout the country by the prisoners themselves. The Patriarch also shared some statistics with the delegation that bear witness to the remarkable resurgence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In his response to the Patriarch, the Archbishop expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the Patriarchʼs invitation and hospitality. He noted the kindness and attention that the Patriarch had shown both him and the delegation, by being present with them nearly every day of the visit. The Archbishop recalled when he led the official delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Consecration of Christ the Savior Cathedral in 2000, and the advancement and progress from that time. In their mutual discussion on the state of Orthodoxy in America, the Archbishop stressed the challenges created by advanced technology and increasing secularization and relativization. His Eminenceʼs conclusion that a byproduct of increased secularization is an increased thirst for God leading to more conversions to Orthodox Christianity became a theme that he and the Patriarch returned to throughout the meeting.
Around forty minutes into the meeting, the Patriarch stood up with a broad smile to indicate that the public portion of the meeting was to be concluded with a bestowal of tokens of friendship and goodwill. The Patriarch presented the Archbishop with a crystal commemorative plate celebrating the 125 year history of Christ the Savior Cathedral, noting that the plates had just been struck and that the Archbishop was receiving the very first one. In addition, he gifted a Cross and Engolpion set to the Archbishop, an Engolpion to all the Hierarchs, a Cross to each of the clergy, and decorative Easter eggs to all the members of the delegation. The Archbishop reciprocated with a triple set of Cross, Panaghia and Engolpion for the Patriarch. Following this exchange of tokens of esteem and respect, the delegation posed for final pictures with the Patriarch, and the portion of the delegation not continuing in the meeting received the Patriarchʼs blessing before departing to the hotel. Then, the press was dismissed and the private portion of the meeting commenced.
When the meeting had concluded, in an expression of love and esteem, the Patriarch accompanied the Archbishop down the grand staircase to the door of the Residence. Fraternal kisses of peace were exchanged, and Christos Anesti – Alithos Anesti could be heard all around.
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