Alexy II: the Russian Orthodox Church does not seek to become a state church

In the Labor newspaper, an interview with the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Alexy II, published today, touched on the interaction of the church and the state. "Sometimes in the media there are assumptions that the Russian Orthodox Church seeks to become a state church. No, we do not have such an aspiration. The church and the state have different tasks, but we must carry out cooperation on many issues," the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church emphasized.

At a meeting with a bishop in the Kremlin, said Patriarch, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin called those areas of cooperation, which the Church considers general. “This is the moral health of our society. This is a world and consent in society. This is overcoming interethnic conflicts, as well as inter -religious, if any arose. Of course, I consider our common task with the state a demographic crisis, strengthening the family. After all, the future of our society, our people, depends on these problems. And to solve them, the serious efforts of the state, but also apply the moral potential of the Church,” he said.

A significant place in an interview with Alexy II occupied the question of the reunification of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church abroad (ROCS). According to the patriarch, the decision to reunite can be made until the next bishop's cathedral.

“As for the specific prospects and terms, the commission that is instructed to develop joint positions on the most fundamental issues work fruitfully. Our bishop's cathedral delegated the solution to this issue to the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. So, if all problematic moments are decorated, we will not wait for the next bishop's cathedral, and we will be able to make a decision earlier,” the patriarch noted.

He emphasized that an important event during the negotiation process was a visit to Russia in May of the official delegation led by the primary hierarch of the Russian foreign church, Metropolitan Lavr. “Moreover, the significance of these meetings was not only in the protocol part, but also, as it is called, in the human one. During the visit, representatives of the foreign church were present at three patriarchal services and prayed for them, so that, one might say, our prayer relations were already restored,” said Alexy II.

Alexy II also affected the issue of adopting the law on the law of the church to land property. "The new law provides the opportunity for regional authorities to transfer agricultural lands to religious organizations. But in fact, we already happen to us. Many of our monasteries - the Trinity -Sergius Lavra, the Savvino -Vyshevsky Monastery, the Ugreshsky monastery - have land allotments that they successfully cultivate and at the same time show how to economic on Earth," said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.