Restitution in a Christian way

Our Lady of Kazan may bring the Pope to Moscow

The Vatican is once again initiating negotiations with the Russian Orthodox Church on the transfer of the famous icon of the Kazan Mother of God. The other day, the head of the Catholic Church, John Paul II, received representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate - Metropolitan Pitirim of Volokolamsk and Yurievsk and Bishop Hilarion. And he told his “colleagues” that he would like to personally meet with Patriarch Alexy II and return the icon to him. As Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, executive secretary of the department for external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, explained to a correspondent of the Vremya Novostei newspaper, the request for a meeting with the patriarch is not an ultimatum. But the pontiff would still like to hand the shrine into the hands of the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

John Paul II has long been trying by any means to see the patriarch and ask his blessing for a visit to Russia. The Kazan icon had already been used once as a reason for a meeting, but to no avail. In 1997, a large ecumenical meeting of European Christians took place in the Austrian city of Graz. The heads of all faiths arrived, but Alexy II at the last moment refused to fly to Austria, and the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church was headed by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. The icon remained in the Vatican. But this time the Vatican's initiative may be more successful. Bishop Hilarion emphasized that on the part of the Patriarch there is a fundamental readiness to meet with the Pope. Of course, the meeting will become possible only after developing a common position on the main issues of inter-church relations. Both sides must condemn proselytism in all its forms, agree on the inadmissibility of union as a method of achieving Christian unity, and recognize and strictly observe the principle of canonical territory. The Russian Orthodox Church assesses the chances of reaching an agreement much more optimistically. “We have planned a meeting with the delegation of the Roman Catholic Church for February,” says Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. “And we really hope that the delegation led by Cardinal Walter Kasper will make proposals that can seriously change for the better the relations between the two Churches.” As for the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, as soon as it returns from the Vatican, it will immediately be sent to the main cathedral of Kazan.

The icon of the Kazan Mother of God was found in 1579 near the ruins of the Kazan Kremlin. It is believed that at the beginning of the 17th century, the intercession of the image of the Kazan Mother of God saved the country from Catholic rule. With this icon, the militia of Minin and Pozharsky liberated Moscow, captured by the Polish-Lithuanian army. The original icon was stolen in 1904. After the revolution, the icon appeared in London, then it was resold. Until 1982 it was kept in Fatima in Portugal, and then was given to John Paul II. The condition for the transfer to the Pope was its subsequent return to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Kirill VASILENKO