Moscow archbishop assesses election of new Russian Orthodox patriarch
January 30, 2009
In an interview published in today’s edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow said that the quick election of Metropolitan Kirill as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is a testimony to the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church. Political labels such as liberal and conservative cannot be applied to the new patriarch, according to Archbishop Pezzi: in continuity with his predecessor, he will seek to lead his Church along the path of continual reform in Christ.
Dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church, the archbishop observes, has been marked by the clear delineation of Catholic and Orthodox identity, by a desire to deepen cordial relations at all levels, from Church leadership to the laity, and by a common testimony. Points of convergence between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church include “the defense of life, the fundamental principles of bioethics, and the value of the family,” as well as “the value of the common good” in an individualistic society. Both the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church can help Europe return to “the foundation of all its values. That foundation is Christ.”
Archbishop Pezzi said that the Russian bishops’ ad limina visit to the Holy Father has “reinvigorated our sense of belonging to Christ, our rootedness in Him.” Archbishop Pezzi-- ordained a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo in 1990, and appointed Archbishop of Moscow in 2007-- prays for the grace “never to be an obstacle” to God’s design for full communion, which will take place “when God wills.”
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Further information:
- A colloquio con monsignor Paolo Pezzi, arcivescovo della Madre di Dio a Mosca (L’Osservatore Romano)
- Russian Catholic bishops encouraged to pursue both ecumenism and evangelization (CWN, Jan. 29)
- Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo
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