Dmitry Medvedev decided to raise the status of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President

On March 11, a joint meeting of the Presidium of the State Council and the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation took place in Tula. Dmitry Medvedev chaired the meeting.

As Kommersant notes, "this format of the event is unprecedented. So, until now, the religious council was subordinate to the head of the presidential administration - during the presidency, Vladimir Putin met with the council only once, in 2004. "Dmitry Medvedev decided to take on this function, - said the interlocutor of Kommersant. - To head the council, that is, to raise its level, making it not a formal, but an active, regularly meeting advisory body. For the first time, Dmitry Medvedev will hold a joint meeting as chairman."

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, Old Believers, Muslims, Jews, Protestants are invited to the meeting. The Russian Orthodox Church is represented by the largest delegation headed by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. The main topic of the meeting was the problems of youth and the role of religion in education.

On March 16, the Catholics of Russia expressed bewilderment at the fact that there was not a single representative of their Church in the Council. Previous members of the Council were Bishop Joseph Werth and Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.

Sources

• Taratuta Yu. Dmitry Medvedev will stand at the head of church affairs // Kommersant. 2009. March 11.
• When and why did Catholics disappear from the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President? // In the light of the Gospel. 2009. March 16.