The Orthodox Church today is becoming the stronghold of traditional Christianity in the West - Metropolitan Kirill

25 June 2008, 11:06

Moscow, June 25, Interfax - The chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad believes that it is the Russian Church which today assumes the dominating role in expressing the values of traditional Christianity to the Western world.

"Due to its principal stand in its dialogue with unorthodoxy, the Russian Orthodox Church is becoming now the major witness and voice of traditional Christian values which are increasingly marginalized by the Western liberalization," said Metropolitan Kirill addressing the Bishops' Council in Moscow.

According to Metropolitan Kirill, the service of the Russian Orthodox Church in a bid to maintain the interreligious dialogue is increasingly becoming "prophetic", as notwithstanding any resistance, with "due submission and firmness", it calls all Christians to "stay true to the rules of the Holy Writ commanded by God."

The Metropolitan also mentioned the need to cooperate with those members of confessions and religions, who defend "traditional moral standings" close to those of the Russian Church. Among such associates in the West may be the Roman Catholic Church and some Protestant communities.

"However, acknowledging that the Russian Church shares some views of the modern world with certain Churches and communities and seeking to make this shared vision more practical and active, we are realistic in our evaluations of existing differences and stick to the relevant rules and traditions," Metropolitan Kirill is quoted as saying by the official site of the Moscow Patriarchate.

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