Russian Russian People's Council plenary session on the theme "The Russian World: External and Internal Challenges" was held in the Hall of Church Cathedrals of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow under the chairmanship of the head of the World Russian People's Council, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on November 28, 2024.
The Council was attended by hierarchs, clergy and monastics of the Russian Orthodox Church, representatives of state authorities, members of the Federation Council and deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, members of the Bureau of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of People's Commissars, senior clergy of traditional religions, figures of science, education and culture, representatives of the public.
After His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia declared the XXVI World Russian People's Council open, the anthem of the Russian Federation was played.
Then the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church made a keynote speech.
First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia Sergey Kiriyenko announced the greeting of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin. Sergey Kiriyenko also addressed the audience with a welcoming speech.
In his reply, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in particular, said:
"I thank you cordially, Sergey Vladilenovich, for all that you have said and, of course, for your participation in shaping the state policy that is supported today by the Church and our World Russian People's Council. Because this policy is aimed at affirming freedom, independence, the true independence of our Fatherland and at the same time at preserving those traditional values that underlie our civilization. And tradition is the transfer of everything important, necessary and useful for people, which is the key to their well—being in the future.
When we say that Orthodoxy is a traditional faith, we assert that it is the Church that transmits these most important meanings and values from generation to generation — through its creed, through prayer, through the formation of people's attitudes and beliefs. Therefore, the Church is a very important factor in the transfer of values.
Today, thanks to the established unique model of interaction between Church and state in our country, which has never happened in the past, this model of Church-state relations is aimed at ensuring that the potential of the Church to preserve values and pass them on to future generations is maximized. And the current way of interaction between Church and state in Russia is one that previous generations could only dream of. The Church lives freely, no one interferes in her life, and the state respects her mission. The State and the Church cooperate in the education of children and youth, in the formation of a spiritual and cultural climate in the country, in order to strengthen the values without which our people and the country will lose their identity, their authenticity. And this is the most terrible thing, because with the loss of this identity, people's ability to defend themselves and their country is also lost.
Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to our President for the course that our political leadership has taken today, for interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church, for the development of a real dialogue, for collaboration. And God grant that this course will be maintained, so that the experience of our interaction today will lay a solid foundation for the future development of the country and for future dynamic, constantly improving relations between the Church and the state."
Greetings were given by Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation M.V. Mishustin, Chairman of the Federation Council V.I. Matvienko.
The meeting was addressed by the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Inter-Factional Working Group of the State Duma for the Protection of Christian Values, co-chairman of the Moscow branch of the VRNS P.O. Tolstoy, who welcomed the audience on behalf of the Chairman of the State Duma V.V. Volodin and deputies of the State Duma.
Then the Governor of St. Petersburg, A.D. Beglov, spoke about a number of state programs and church-state cooperation in the Northern capital, in particular about the return of the historical shrine of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, in turn, thanked the President of Russia, the Governor of St. Petersburg and all those involved in the return of the cancer.
"I would like to tell you so that it would be clear to everyone who contributed to the return of the Alexander Nevsky shrine to its historical place. I initiated this event, but I understood what kind of opposition there was, and therefore I turned to Vladimir Vladimirovich with a request to help transfer the Alexander Nevsky shrine from the museum and, putting the relics of the Grand Duke in the shrine, return it to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to our President for responding to the Patriarch's request that the great shrine of the Russian land, the relics of Alexander Nevsky, rest in a historical shrine in its place in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra," His Holiness said.
At the end of the event, the deputy head of the VRNS, Metropolitan Gregory of the Resurrection, announced the draft of the Conciliar Word of the XXVI World Russian People's Council. The draft was adopted by a unanimous decision of all the participants of the Council.
At the end of the meeting, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill addressed the forum participants with a closing speech and declared the next Council closed:
"I sincerely thank all the participants of the Council meeting, and here is another thing I would like to say. At one time, we initiated a discussion of the anti-alcohol topic here at the Cathedral. How many doubters there were, how many who dissuaded me! "Yes, it is not necessary, Holiness, the joy of Russia is to drink, and we cannot live without it, and then how many people will look askance at the Church and even more so at the Cathedral!" But we did not succumb to these persuasions, so what? Our position has worked! The anti—alcohol agenda was supported by the country's leadership and public organizations, but now we have what we have - a significant reduction in alcohol consumption in Russia.
And now I suggest that you pay attention to this. There is another vice. It may not have the same effect on the human body, but it has a great effect on moral health. That's foul language, mate. But some even flaunt the fact that they use obscenities. I would think that, after the success with the anti-alcohol theme, the World Russian People's Council would pay attention to the topic of profanity. It is necessary to purge this spiritual poison from the life of our people, from people's communication with each other. If this can be done, then we will say that we were able to do something else after all, and in a fairly short period of time.
And may the Lord help us, rejoicing at what we have achieved, to strive into the future and go in the same conciliatory, friendly way to achieve our goals. Thank you all for your participation and for your work."
At the end of the meeting, a concert was held by the male choir of the Valaam Stavropol monastery.