Fri 17 December 2021:

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin wished Pope Francis a happy 85th birthday, telling him that they could work together to protect Christians.

The remarks follow the pope’s announcement earlier this month that he was ready to travel to Moscow to meet with Patriarch Kirill, Russia’s Orthodox Church’s head.

“It is difficult to overestimate your personal contribution to the development of relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and to the strengthening of Russian-Vatican ties,” Putin told Pope Francis, according to a telegram released by the Kremlin.

“I am sure that through joint efforts we can do a lot to protect the rights and interests of Christians, as well as to ensure interfaith dialogue.

” Putin over his more than two decades in power has made the Orthodox Church a key pillar of his rule, casting himself as a safeguarder of traditional values.

Head of Russian Orthodox Church hails interaction with Vatican

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia wished Pope Francis a happy 85th birthday, pointing out that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican reached a high level of interaction while maintaining their traditions. The Patriarch’s message was published on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church on Friday.

“I am happy to see that while remaining committed to our own traditions, our Churches have been able to reach a high level of interaction that makes it possible for us to work together to glorify God all over the world, promote timeless moral ideals in society, boost inter-religious dialogue and cultivate appropriate responses to the challenges of our time,” the message reads.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church pointed out that as leaders of the two major Christian churches, the Pope and he had “a special responsibility for the future of mankind.” “This responsibility has a global aspect to it, as proved by our meeting in Havana and the joint statement that we adopted there,” the Patriarch noted.

The pope in 2016 met Patriarch Kirill in Cuba, the first encounter between the heads of the two largest Christian churches since Christianity split into Western and Eastern branches in the 11th Century — an event known as “The Great Schism.”Bishop Hilarion, head of the Russian church’s department for external relations, said this month he would meet the pope sometime before the end of the year and that they would discuss a possible future meeting with Kirill.

He said that neither a date nor a location for the meeting had been set.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin, meets Pope Francis during a private meeting at Vatican City (2015).

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