In his recent meeting with top officials and clergymen of the Russian South, Patriarch Kirill praised the achievements of that region.

- You are far ahead of many other regions. - His Holiness said. - I want to say again: not only because of the warm climate and wonderful living conditions here, but also because a very strong Orthodox tradition has been preserved here.

God grant that our spiritual strength will not wane, that there will be no fear, no sense of uncertainty in our historical development... This requires from our people a very strong unity, a consolidation of all forces. We must ensure that the contradictions which exist in any society between, as they used to say, classes - and now we don't use that word - between the different strata of society, so that these contradictions recede into the background and the solidarity of the whole people in the face of real threats come to the fore.

Russia, with her faith, with her philosophy of life, if you like, with her absolute sense of decency, is a challenge for a very large part of the Western world - they live by different laws. Everyone who comes here clearly feels it: time goes by, but people remain strong in their faith, in their love for the Motherland. And I would like to thank all the people of the South for their Christian faith, for their patriotism, for their loyalty to the Fatherland - said the Primate of the Russian Church.

Source: http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/5940139.html