Sticking to the same moral and spiritual values helps the peoples of Russia and Armenia to boost friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill told reporters ahead of his visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan that kicks off on Tuesday. Kirill voiced hope that the two will further cement collaboration despite the existing differences between their Churches:
"The Russian and Armenian people have been developing fraternal relations since time immemorial - a bridge-building that also saw an array of hardships the two had to go through", Kirill says. "The most important thing", he adds, "is that we managed to remain committed to the Orthodox faith, which added significantly to cementing fraternal bonds between Russia and Armenia. So we should do our best to try to preserve our system of fundamental values in the years to come", Kirill points out, urging the Russian Orthodox Church and the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church to continue to contribute to what is now a common spiritual basis between Moscow and Yerevan.
"I do hope that my current visit to Armenia will further add to the burgeoning bilateral bridge-building", Kirill says.
The Armenian Apostolic Church is believed to be one of the world's oldest national Churches, experts explain, pointing to the fact that Armenia was the first to announce Christianity its state religion. In a sign of respect to Russian Orthodoxy, the Protection of the Holy Mother of God Cathedral was built in Yerevan at the beginning of last century - something that is currently billed as the Russian Orthodox Church's main shrine in Armenia. The Moscow Patriarchate's another church was built in Yerevan in 2001 in an event that coincided with the 1,700th anniversary of the baptism of Armenia. March 16 will significantly see the beginning of the construction of the Moscow Patriarchate's third church in Yerevan. Both Armenia-based Russian Orthodox believers and those from the Armenian Apostolic Church contributed considerably to the construction. Among them Catholicos Karekin II, head of the Holy Armenian Apostolic Church, who moved to donate his prize money he earlier got from the International Orthodox People's Unity Fund. The new church's ground-breaking ceremony is due to be consecrated by Patriarch Kirill later in the day.
The Tuesday trip will become Kirill's first visit to Armenia after his enthronization early last year - something that is in line with the Church Regulations, which stipulate the Russian Orthodox Patriarch travelling to local Churches all across the globe. Earlier, Kirill paid a visit to the Constantinople Patriarchate, correspondents say, adding that he also plans to visit the Antiochian Orthodox Church as well as the Churches of Alexandria and Jerusalem.
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