News

Metropolitan Hilarion thanks Catholics for their active assistance rendered to Orthodox believers abroad

Moscow, October 6, Interfax - Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk noted the active assistance rendered to Orthodox believers abroad by representatives of other Christian confessions.

"Do pundits of our cooperation with the Catholic Church know who provides our fellow countrymen abroad with premises necessary to conduct services, organize Sunday schools and establish Orthodox communication environment?" Metropolitan Hilarion said in an interview posted Wednesday by the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church.

According to him, many newly created Orthodox communities abroad use church buildings provided to them by non-Orthodox communities, primarily Catholics.

"When Catholics give Orthodox believers an opportunity to pray in the churches they own, and mostly without any charge, what can this mean?" Metropolitan Hilarion asked.

He emphasized the number of former Catholics and Protestants who have converted to Orthodoxy and joined Orthodox communities abroad, including as a result of mixed marriages.

"Do those authors who consider themselves the voice of "conservative church communities" know how difficult it is to obtain permission for church construction in the Western Europe and get the approval of the local authorities? Do they know about assistance rendered to our new dioceses by Catholic episcopates and even Protestant communities?" Metropolitan Hilarion asked.

He also urged his opponents to think of those Russians who became illegal migrants in the West and managed to obtain the necessary documents and work "with the help of Catholic and Protestant charity organizations upon request of Russian Orthodox dioceses."

At the same time, mentioning the challenges in relations between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, Metropolitan Hilarion stated that "it is a willful refusal of Greek Catholics from political expansion (in Ukraine - IF) that will allow us to settle matters which complicate the Orthodox-Catholic relations today."

Print this page

Home

News

.	Customize latest news

• Kiev envoy goes to Istanbul with request on Ukrainian autocephaly for Ecumenical patriarch 20 April 2018, 17:35
• Catholicos of All Armenians urges protestors, police to exercise restraints 19 April 2018, 18:24
• Metropolitan Hilarion on situation in Ukraine: secular administration cannot initiate creation of autocephalous Church (updated) 19 April 2018, 14:41
• Rada speaker hopes for approval of autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church by late July 19 April 2018, 14:37
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church's autocephaly is geopolitical issue – Poroshenko 19 April 2018, 14:20
• Actions aimed at dividing church are not welcome - Peskov on situation in Ukraine 19 April 2018, 12:52
• Poroshenko to phone Patriarch Bartholomew to discuss autocephaly of Ukrainian Orthodox Church 19 April 2018, 12:43
• Rada backs Poroshenko request for Ecumenical Patriarch on setting up autocephalous local Orthodox Church in Ukraine (updated) 19 April 2018, 12:04
• Identical monuments to St. John of Kronstadt will be set up in Russia, USA and Germany 18 April 2018, 19:57
• Syrian mufti plans visit to Russia 18 April 2018, 12:10
• Unity of Russian Orthodox Church must be supported by all Orthodox Churches - Metropolitan Hilarion (updated) 17 April 2018, 20:00
• The Moscow Patriarchate official urges to pray for not allowing World War III 17 April 2018, 18:58
• Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis urge world leaders to relieve tensions in international relations 17 April 2018, 18:15
• Head of House of Romanov suggests waiting patiently for results of comprehensive analysis of "Yekaterinburg remains" 16 April 2018, 10:17
• Patriarch Kirill discusses Syria with Pope Francis 16 April 2018, 09:48
• Lenin should be buried, Stalin returned to Georgia - Kadyrov 13 April 2018, 17:12
• Orthodox believers will never stand in open opposition to state authorities, head of a Synodal Department believes 12 April 2018, 17:02
• Russia rids itself of anti-Semitic image, but Jews blamed for 1917 revolution, Russian Internet full of anti-Semitic content – report 12 April 2018, 13:36
• Metropolitan Hilarion calls 'Skripal affair' a provocation aimed at weakening Russia 09 April 2018, 17:25
• Patriarch Kirill addresses Russian military in Syria on Orthodox Easter day 09 April 2018, 10:54
• Orthodox church in Kiev set on fire 06 April 2018, 14:10
• Seven-meter Easter egg will be set up in downtown Moscow 06 April 2018, 11:25
• Pope and Armenian president unveil monument to Armenian saint in Vatican Gardens 05 April 2018, 18:09
• Ethnic minorities in Iraq lost hope unlike Syrian Christians - Russian Church official 05 April 2018, 16:51
• Steven Hoking demonstrated the limits of scientific possibilities, Metropolitan Hilarion believes 05 April 2018, 10:45
• Expert on religion doubts that Mormons would be able to build a church in Russia 04 April 2018, 18:45
• Putin thanks Patriarch of Constantinople for supporting unity of the Orthodox world - Kremlin 04 April 2018, 16:59
• Russian muftis have different opinions on Wahhabism ban 03 April 2018, 10:42
• The Interreligious Council of Russia stands up for recognizing Wahhabism an extremist ideology 27 March 2018, 18:48
• May: prayers of the British people are with the families who have lost loved ones in Kemerovo 27 March 2018, 18:32

Other news