The Church can serve as a bridge between nations when political relations sour, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said on a visit to Britain amid strained ties between the two countries.
“We, people of the faith … can distance ourselves from the short-term interests and problems and offer a different perspective, including on the current state of Russian-British relations,” he told the congregation at the newly refurbished Cathedral of the Dormition of Mother of God in Knightsbridge, London on Sunday. Relations with Moscow have been strained by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson criticising Russian airstrikes in Syria and Prince Charles in 2014 likening some actions by President Vladimir Putin to those of the Nazis.
The Russian Patriarch, the first to visit Britain, on Tuesday met the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby at Buckingham Palace. His spokesman Alexander Volkov said their discussion would include “the situation of Christians in the Middle East and … the present situation of traditional Christianity in Europe, which unfortunately is facing hard times”. Kirill then held a private meeting later that day with Archbishop Welby at Lambeth palace.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “The Queen received Patriarch Kirill today in her capacity as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The interfaith audience was requested by the Patriarch, and was attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London.”
The Patriarch was making a pastoral visit to mark the 300th anniversary of the presence of the Russian Orthodox in Britain and the completion of a more than 10-year refurbishment of the former Anglican church now functioning as the Russian Orthodox cathedral.
The Catholic bishops were represented at Sunday’s elaborate liturgy by Archbishop Emeritus Kevin McDonald, who oversees interfaith and ecumenical relations, and Pope Francis represented by the nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Mennini. Archbisbop McDonald said Kirill came to visit the Russian Orthodox diaspora, “the Church of England and the British State”.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols was unable to attend due to a “diary clash”, according to a spokeswoman. Fr Joseph Skinner, a priest at the Russian Orthodox cathedral in London said it was “disappointing” that the cardinal had not attended, but the cathedral had only had final confirmation of the Patriarch’s visit a matter of days before the event, so invitations were not sent out early enough.
Asked about the close relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Government of President Vladimir Putin, Fr Skinner said: “If the Church has concerns [about the Government’s actions], they are more likely to be raised privately.”
However, a senior dean in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Mitred Very Revd Bohdan Matwijczuk, described the Patriarch as a “fifth column” for the Russian state and said he feared the Patriarch would try to hoodwink the Queen with “attempts to justify their actions in the world and in Ukraine”. Russian airstrikes in Syria were “just another example of Russian imperialism”, he added.
Metropolitan Hilarion, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, on Tuesday discussed Syria and the Middle East with the foreign office minister, Baroness Joyce Anelay.
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