Russian Orthodox Church Leader Visits Bahrain to Promote Interfaith Dialogue

OCP News Service – 09/12/2024

Moscow- Russia: On December 9,2024, with the blessing of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, arrived on a working visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain. The hierarch is accompanied on his trip by Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of the Church of St. Philip the Apostle in Sharjah (United Arab Emirates), and Priest Nikolai Vasin, secretary of the DECR chairman.

At the international airport of Bahrain, the Bishop and his companions were met by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Bahrain A.V. Skosyrev.

On the same day, Metropolitan Anthony met with the Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Bahrain, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Hamad World Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa.

During a lengthy conversation, the Chairman of the DECR spoke about the state of interreligious relations in Russia and about the activities of the Department for External Church Relations in the context of the development of Orthodox-Muslim dialogue.

In turn, Sheikh Al-Khalifa warmly welcomed the distinguished guest and expressed his joy at the visit of the hierarch to the Kingdom of Bahrain. He stressed the importance of deepening knowledge about each other for representatives of traditional religions, as well as the need to develop religious education in this context.

The participants of the meeting were unanimous in the fact that Christianity and Islam have similar concepts of traditional moral and family values.

Metropolitan Anthony thanked Sheikh Al-Khalifa for the kind attitude and goodwill that the Russian Orthodox community in Bahrain enjoys. At the end of the meeting, the parties exchanged souvenirs.

Source:

OCP News Services