Patriarch Kirill’s message of greetings to the 6th Plenary Session of the Christian Inter-Confessional Advisory Committee

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has sent a message of greetings to the 6^th Plenary Session of the Christian Inter-Confessional Advisory Committee’s meeting opening on October 30, 2019, in Moscow.

The message brought to the meeting by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, reads as follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I cordially greet the participants in the 6^th Plenary Session of the Christian Inter-Confessional Advisory Committee, the largest platform in the Eurasian space, on which representatives of various confessions serving in the territory stretching from the Baltics and the Carpathian Mountains to the Pacific, from the northern seas to the Caucasus, the Tien Shan and the Caspian Sea, can discussed together today’s acute problems and propose ways of solving them.

The theme of the present forum is ‘The Imperishable Power of the Gospel and Its Significance for the Modern Society’. Unfortunately, today some regard the Gospel exclusively as a monument of literature, a legacy of the past centuries. However, Christians not only recognize the absolute historic authenticity of the Gospel’s text but also bear witness to it as the revelation of the Creator and Provider of the world. Reading the Gospel, we partake of divine grace, for the word of the Lord is the incorruptible seed which lives and abides for ever (1 Pet. 1:23).

The Gospel give the true meaning to the earthly life as well: the pages of this holy text reveal to us the image of Christ Himself – our Saviour. Seeing Him the Source of every perfection, we seek the meekness and purity of soul, charity and joy in the Lord, aspiring to be peacemakers and serve people as the Son of God did it.

The Gospel does not lose its value; it is always relevant, and we are called to exert common efforts so that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified (2 Thes. 3:1), for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes (Rom. 1:16).

Wishing the participants in the plenary fruitful discussions and successes in their work, I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon all of you.

+ Kirill

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia