Russian Orthodox Patriarch praises Leader’s message, backs closer religious ties
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, hailed as “valuable” a message from Iran’s Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, after receiving it from Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali during a meeting at his residence.
Jalali delivered the message and thanked Patriarch Kirill for sending separate messages offering condolences over the martyrdom of former leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and congratulations following the election of his successor IRNA reported on Friday.
Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated at the age of 86 in an airstrike on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war on Iran, along with a number of senior military commanders. His son, Mojtaba, was wounded in the attack and was elected as Iran’s third Leader by the Assembly of Experts on March 8.
A delegation from the Russian Orthodox Church attended Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran in early July. Patriarch Kirill said members of the delegation had reported receiving a warm welcome from both Iranian officials and ordinary citizens.
“This reflects the closeness between Iran and Russia, as well as the closeness between the followers of Islam and Christianity,” Patriarch Kirill said.
Expressing deep sorrow over the suffering and killings in different parts of the world, including the Iranian nation’s confrontation with their enemies, the Patriarch said he prayed for peace and security in the region and especially for the well-being of the Iranian people, “who are standing firm and resisting.”
The cleric commended dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and Iran’s Islamic denominations, as well as the work of the two countries’ joint commission, and called for the talks to continue.
“Russian Christians today enjoy good relations with Iran’s Islamic community… The Russian Orthodox Church and Iran’s Muslims share close and common positions on various issues, including moral values, the role of religion in everyday life, family relations and family issues,” he said.
The top clergyman also stressed the importance of bolstering religious, academic and scientific cooperation between Iran and Russia.
“In light of the close relations between our two countries, there is a good opportunity to exchange views on bilateral ties,” he added.
Jalali express gratitude to the Russian government, people and the Russian Orthodox Church for expressing sympathy with Iran following the “criminal aggression” by the United States and Israel and the assassination of the former leader.
“They believed that by assassinating our leader and military commanders they would take over our country. But it can be said that Iran experienced a rebirth after these events, and that reality was reflected in the magnificent farewell and funeral ceremonies for the martyred leader,” the envoy said.
He added that Iran was “standing up to” aggression in line with its moral, humanitarian and Islamic principles.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Jalali said the 12 rounds of dialogue between Islam and Orthodox Christianity had produced constructive results and announced Tehran’s readiness to host the 13th round of the talks.
At the end of the meeting, the ambassador presented Patriarch Kirill with the Persian translation of “Freedom and the Sense of Responsibility,” a book originally published in Russian by the Patriarch and translated and published by the Centre for Interfaith Dialogue of Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.