Saturday, February 04, 2012

Kirill: “Good relations with the Pope does not imply a meeting between us”

Relations “have improved” but it is not time yet for the long awaited encounter: the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Kirill (Vladimir Michajlovič Gundjaev), has said yet again that the necessary conditions for bilateral talks with the Pope have not been created yet.

In an interview with the Serbian newspaper Novosti Vecherniye, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church stated: “I believe there are still certain conflicts to be resolved with greater determination if not completely, in order for this meeting to be successful.” 

A translation of the interview is available on the Patriarchate’s website.

Kirill said the media only emphasised “the scandalous aspect of a potential meeting,” and explained that he did “not want” everything to be reduced to this. 

According to Kirill, further developments are needed in relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church: “we must work together to radically improve the atmosphere of these relations, resolving problems that exist between us,” the Patriarch declared.