On February 28, 2019, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Archbishop Luoma of Turku and Finland, at the Patriarchal and Synodal Residence in the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow.
Welcoming the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Patriarch Kirill said that he was glad to meet with the high guest in Moscow.
‘We are living at a difficult time from the perspective of the political situation in the world, Patriarch Kirill said in particular. He also noted that ‘Christians, Christian Churches and organizations can do much to make the world a better place’.
‘The Russian Orthodox Church, as you know, lives her own life. We are fully aware of responsibility for the spiritual state of our people and give especially close attention to the youth. Today’s challenges have formed our agenda and our priorities. It is our deep conviction that the witness of the Orthodox Church borne within a secular society is very important because it humanizes the society or, at least, is called to humanize it’, His Holiness stated.
Among the topics of the talk were also bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Patriarch Kirill reminded his guests that in 2017, a working group for bilateral dialogue was set up to put on the agenda the pressing problem of the theology of peace.
Patriarch Kirill also said that international conflicts should not remain outside the field of vision in inter-Christian dialogue, noting that Churches ‘should not have either political and, the less so, ideological assessment of these conflicts’.
‘However, we cannot ignore these conflicts because they cause suffering to thousands and thousands of people’, he said, ‘In this connection, I would like to mention certainly the suffering of the Syrian people. Hundreds of thousands of Christians have left that country because of the military actions. At the height of this conflict, our Church very loudly stated the need to stop all kinds of military actions and lead people out the situation in which certain groups could have been be subjected to genocide. I point out with satisfaction to the common stand taken on this problem, which was revealed during my meetings with Pope Francis and many other religious leaders’.
Patriarch Kirill also reminded his guests that the year 2020 will mark the 50th anniversary of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and expressed hope for the resumption of the theological dialogue between representatives of the two Churches.
In his response, the head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland thanked Patriarch Kirill for the invitation to visit Moscow and, on behalf of the Finnish delegation, congratulated him on the 10th anniversary of his enthronement.
‘We appreciate the possibility to meet with you and continue the dialogue both on personal and inter-church level’, Archbishop Tapio Luoma said.
He also expressed deep concern over the grave situation of Christians in the Middle East, who, being subjected to persecution by extremists, are forced to leave their homeland.
During the talk, the high guest underscored the need for active cooperation aimed to strengthen the influence of the religious factor in public and international life, saying,
He also pointed to the need for further development of theological discussions: ‘The theological conversations, which took place between our Churches, have shown that mutual exchange and talks in the Christian spirit help us to seek together the will of God in our time and the ways in which the Lord wishes to lead us into the future’.
Participating in the meeting from the Russian Orthodox Church were Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR); Archbishop Amvrosy of Vereya, rector of Moscow theological schools; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Archpriest Sergiy Zvonarev, DECR secretary for the far abroad; Archpriest Victor Lyutik, rector of the Patriarchal Parishes in Finland; and R. Akhmatkhanov, DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations.
According to the Patriarchate of Moscow, from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland there were Bishop Seppo Häkkinen of Mikkeli; Rev. Jari Huokuna, ELCF chancellor; Rev. Tomi Karttunen, secretary of the ELCF Department for International Relations; Rev. Dr. Juha Meriläinen, secretary of the Archbishop; Rev. Timo Rosqvist, secretary of the Diocese of Mikkeli; and Rev. Vladimir Dorotniy, Church of Ingria.
Also attending the meeting was H.E. Mikko Hautala, Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to the Russian Federation.
