🎙 Remarks by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at a reception on the occasion of Orthodox Easter (Moscow, April 22, 2026)

💬 The traditional Easter meetings held in the Reception House of the Foreign Ministry provide an opportunity for live communication between representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Christian communities of our country, and well as members of other religions that are traditional for our country, where the people of faith can communicate with the employees of our diplomatic service and the diplomatic corps accredited in Russia.

Key points:

• We attach great importance to the development of fraternal relations with local Orthodox churches. Most of them remain committed to the maintenance of good relations with the Moscow Patriarchate, as evidenced by last year’s visits to Moscow by the delegations of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Georgia, and the Serbian Patriarchate, as well as the Church of Greece, the Orthodox Church in America, and the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

• Relations between Orthodox churches have been put to the test of loyalty to the canonical order. A doctrine alien to Orthodoxy continues to be imposed from outside – namely, the notion that the Patriarch of Constantinople enjoys special powers of authority. The attempts to convince us that one of other brethren has special authority in the Orthodox ecumene are sinful because they violate the laws of the church, and dangerous in terms of their political influence on the local Orthodox churches through a single centre that can fall under the political influence of powerful forces.

• I would like to again draw your attention to the facts of discrimination of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The pressure put by the Ukrainian authorities on the church has escalated into overt religious persecution. Standing behind all this is not only religious and canonical issues but also political factors.

• I would like to emphasise that we maintain good relations with the heads and high representatives of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and the Assyrian Church of the East, both at the bilateral level and on international platforms. The Russian Orthodox Church continues to develop dialogue with the leaders of non-Christian religions, as well as interreligious and international organisations.

• The leaders and representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate regularly attend interreligious events held in post-Soviet republics and other countries. Major organisations, such as the UN Alliance of Civilisations and the World Conference of Religions for Peace, are interested in developing contacts with the Russian Orthodox Church. Overall, I believe that dialogue between traditional religions and international organisations has reached a high level.

• Concern for our compatriots abroad is a vivid example of fruitful cooperation between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Foreign Ministry. They are offered spiritual assistance at the numerous foreign missions of the Moscow Patriarchate located in 105 countries, which have 1,502 dioceses and 2,039 priests. The Russian embassies in many countries offer their premises for church services and help organise church services in other places in the host countries.