Orthodox ‘want closer dialogue’ to defend faith

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has said his Church wants closer dialogue with the Catholic Church to help the Vatican speak out against widespread secularisation in western countries, write Tom Heneghan and Jonathan Luxmoore.

Kirill, whose Church makes up two-thirds of the 300 million Orthodox Christians, told Turkey’s most senior Islamic official that the Moscow patriarchate also wanted stronger ties to “the Islamic world and other religious groups that uphold God-given morality”.

“Catholics remain faithful to the biblical tradition, yet they find it more and more difficult to raise their voice,” Kirill told Mehmet Görmez, president of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, in Moscow on 11 December. “We strive to render all possible support to the Catholic Church and believe we must promote and deepen our dialogue on these issues.”

However, speaking in Poland, the Vatican’s chief ecumenist rejected Russian Orthodox calls for a “strategic alliance” with Catholics in defence of Christian values. “The strategic alliance proposed by [external relations head] Metropolitan Hilarion  has too militaristic an overtone”, said Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Pontifical Council for  Promoting Christian Unity. “Nor can a Catholic-Orthodox alliance be directed against Protestants.”