Archbishop Chrysostomos meets Medvedev

22/1/2011

ARCHBISHOP Chrysostomos met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev yesterday in Moscow, where he was awarded with the Prize of the International Foundation for the Unity of Christian Orthodox Nations at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

Medvedev, who visited Cyprus late last year, commented that “the two countries and the two peoples have always been united by the solid base of the common faith.”

The award has also been give to former Cypriot presidents Tassos Papadopoulos, Spyros Kyprianou.

This distinction is awarded by The Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Kirill to renowned individuals all over the world. The prize has also been awarded this year to the Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych.

The meeting yesterday took place at the presidential chapel in Kremlin and ran for around 50 minutes over the scheduled time frame. Patriarch Kirill had a separate meeting with the Archbishop earlier.

During his meeting with Medvedev, Archbishop Chrysostomos thanked the Russian president and the Russian people for their support, reaffirming his “resolute determination to continue the excellent relationship with the Russian Orthodox Church.” Chrysostomos also got the chance to update Medvedev on the Cyprus problem.

Patriarch Kirill, during the meeting, expressed his own sentiments by reminding those present of the “longstanding brotherly cooperation” that links the two churches “even during difficult times in the history of both countries,” referring to its close spiritual ties with the “holy island” of Cyprus.

The Archbishop and the Patriarch of Russian will take part today in a senior clergy church service at the Church of the Assumption in the Kremlin.

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