Jewish, Muslim leaders in Russia welcome Pope-patriarch meeting

February 12, 2016

Muslim and Jewish leaders in Russia welcomed the historic meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

“The Orthodox world is led by our patriarch, the Catholic one by the Pope, and such a meeting is a guarantee that good cooperation will be of huge significance,” said Rabbi Zinovy Kogan, vice president of the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities and Organizations in Russia, according to the Interfax news agency.

“I cordially welcome the decision by the leaders of the two churches to hold talks, because any meeting is a path toward mutual understanding,” added Talgat Tadzhuddin, Russia’s grand mufti from 1992 until 2015. “The fact that Patriarch Kirill has behind him a huge experience in dialogue will allow him to make this meeting with the Pope truly historical.”

 

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Further information:

• Patriarch-pope meeting to benefit Christians in Islamic countries - mufti Tajuddin (Interfax)
• Rabbi Kogan blesses the patriarch-pope meeting (Interfax)