Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus received today, Wednesday, October 9, 2019, at his office in the Holy Archbishopric, the former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and President of the organisation Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Sergei Stepashin.
During the meeting, the Archbishop and Stepashin referred to the strong cultural and religious ties between the Cypriot and the Russian people and exchanged views on issues of concern to the orthodox Christian communities everywhere, especially in the wider Mediterranean, the interreligious dialogue, as well as the revival programs of religious pilgrimages between Russia and Cyprus, which managed to revive after 100 years.
This meeting is a follow-up to the last year’s one in the Archbishopric and to a previous one in Russia in December 2017, when decisions to cooperate on the issue of pilgrimage in Russia-Cyprus-Jerusalem were made. This is the revival of an old institution where pilgrims heading to the Holy Land made a stop on the island of Cyprus before arriving at their destination.
Afterwards, former PM Stepashin decorated the Archbishop of Cyprus with the highest honour of the Organization, the Star of Bethlehem, for his general offering to Orthodoxy. The Archbishop presented, in turn, Stepashin a silver disc with the representation of the island of Cyprus.
Source: Church of Cyprus