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Cf. WCC press release, pr-03-25, 02 July 2003

The continued need to search for Christian unity and to dialogue about the place of churches in modern culture were among the issues discussed by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, chair of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Metropolitan Kirill affirmed the importance of the WCC as a place for the churches to come together and dialogue about how to relate to a secularised world and how to influence its centres of power.

The meeting, held on July 7, was attended by other DECR staff and addressed the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement and the state of relations between the Church and the WCC. The meeting took place during the visit of the WCC general secretary to the Russian Orthodox Church, 4-8 July 2003.

Metropolitan Kirill also expressed his gratitude for the work done by the Special Commission on Orthodox Participation in the WCC, which was received in September 2002 by the WCC Central Committee. Discussions also covered the challenges posed by the process of globalisation, European integration, and the tension between unilateralism and multilateralism in international relations.

Discussions about the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the ecumenical movement continued at a round table on 8 July, also held under the auspices of the DECR. It was attended by representatives of the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church and of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, academics, journalists from the secular media, and staff of the synodical institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Addressing the relationship of the Russian Orthodox Church and the WCC, Raiser stated that over the past three years the WCC has taken participation of the Orthodox Churches in the ecumenical movement more seriously than ever before. Through the work of the Special Commission, he said, "we are creating a situation where we are more attentive to other voices".

In turn, the Moscow Patriarchate DECR vice-chairman, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, noted that there is a lack of understanding between the WCC and people involved in discussions of religious and societal problems in Russia. "I don't know why that is. Perhaps it is simply the lack of a large number of translations between Russian and English, too little or too much information". As a result, the WCC image is distorted by several stereotypes, he added.

Sergei Chapnin, the chief editor of the official newspaper of the Russian Orthodox Church, Tsekovni Vestnik (The Church Herald), emphasised that the attitude to ecumenism in the Russian Church made communicating the WCC's work difficult. "Believers' lack of interest in church life beyond Russia's borders - be they clergy, laity, or theologians - makes it very difficult to talk seriously about the ecumenical movement in the secular or church media."

Round table discussions also focused on the WCC's participation in peace building in many regions of the world and the promotion of justice and human dignity. Participants expressed the need to identify the influence of the churches in the areas of political and economic rights and international law. Raiser noted that in addition to its work on social and political issues, the WCC never moves away from its task of engaging in theological dialogue with the aim of the visible unity of the churches.

Raiser also met Vladimir Zorin, the Russian government minister of Ethnic and Religious issues. They discussed the issue of religious education in public schools, now possible in Russia, facing the Russian Orthodox Church with the need to train teachers of religion.

Kiev and Minsk

Raiser also visited the Russian Orthodox Church in Kiev, Ukraine, and in Minsk, Belarus, where he met with church leaders and representatives and students of ecclesiastical institutions.

On 4 July, Raiser met with Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and all Ukraine, and among other issues, discussed religious life in Ukraine and the relationships between the religious communities in the country. He also met with the chairman of the State Committee on Religious Affairs, Victor Bondarenko.

Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk was Raiser's host on July 5 in Minsk where he toured reconstruction projects and the rehabilitation centre Dom Miloserdiya (House of Mercy). This centre, which the WCC supports, works in rehabilitating children affected by radiation from the Chernobyl accident.

"Five years after my last visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, I noticed this time very positive changes in the atmosphere in Russia - politically, socially and economically - which also are reflected in the church and which I find now different and encouraging", Raiser said. This visit was his third and last as WCC general secretary, as he retires at the end of 2003. He was accompanied by Teny Pirri-Simonian, WCC programme executive for church and ecumenical relations.