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The Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit
General Secretary
World Council of Churches
Reverend Dr. Tveit,
Distinguished members of the WCC Central Committee:
I cordially congratulate you on the 70th
anniversary of the World Council of Churches, a major international
organization and unique platform for dialogue between Christians of
various confessions. For the years of its work, the World Council of
Churches has done much to develop inter-confessional dialogue, to
promote justice in society and peace among nations.
The entry of
the Russian Orthodox Church in the WCC in 1961 helped to open for it new
opportunities for participating together with other Local Orthodox
Churches in the dialogue, bearing witness to the apostolic and patristic
understanding of the Church of God, her sacraments, liturgical
traditions and pastoral work. In the situation of the Cold War, of our
special concern were joint efforts in overcoming the confrontation
between East and West and struggling for peace and justice in
international relations.
We remember with gratitude the solidarity
that our brothers and sister shared with us in the desire to overcome
the restrictions of religious freedom as a consequence of the state
policy formed by the ideology of militant atheism.
Today’s challenges are no less serious than those of the 20th
century were. In the situation of continued secularization of society,
we have encountered a profound spiritual and moral crisis caused by a
deviation from the faith and traditional Christian values. The world
going through social and economic hardships has again found itself on
the brink of a global war. It is my deep conviction that it is possible
to solve accumulated problems only through the strengthening of our
spiritual traditions and return to the values which have been brought to
the world by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our attention and support is
especially needed by Christians in the Middle East and North Africa,
where there is a real threat of the complete disappearance of Christian
communities in the region.
The Russian Orthodox Church has
undertaken numerous efforts to help solve these problems, and we hope
for an active cooperation with the World Council of Churches.
The
World Council of Churches is conducting dialogue with state and public
leaders all over the world, advocating the principles of justice and
human dignity. We are grateful for the firm position expressed by the
WCC General Secretary in his appeal to the Ukrainian authorities on
behalf of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church subjected today to
discrimination and persecution.
I wish you and all your co-workers good health, God’s help and success in the field of inter-Christian cooperation.
+ Kirill
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
