22 February 2008 First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad visits St.Tikhon Orthodox University.

On Friday, February 22, 2008, His Eminence, Metropolitan LAURUS of Eastern America and New York and First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, visited our University. Accompanying His Eminence were Bishop MICHAEL of Geneva and Western Europe; Bishop GABRIEL of Manhattan; Bishop PETER of Cleveland; Archpriest Seraphim Gan, the Private Secretary of the Metropolitan.

His Eminence arrived to ours at 10:00 GMT and firstly made his way into St.Nicolas church, where he venerated the Icon of the Mother of God "Assuage My Sorrows" and blessed those who had assembled to greet him. He thanked the parishioners for their cordial welcome. After a short speech he was taken into the conference-hall, where the rest of the meeting was to be held.

The meeting was started by the Rector of the University, Archpriest Vladimir Vorobiev. In his speech he welcomed His Eminence and those accompanying him, expressing his special delight about receiving such a person within these walls. After that he passed the microphone to His Eminence.

Having taken the word, His Eminence complimented the present and made a speech, the accurate and full stenogram of which you can read below:

Opening Speech of Metropolitan Laurus at Orthodox St Tikhon Humanitarian University

"Eminence archpastors, reverend fathers, dear in Christ brothers and sisters:

Raising praise and gratitude to our Lord and Savior for the great and wondrous good and mercies poured out upon the entire Russian Orthodox Church, I feel it is my duty to express heartfelt thanks to the Reverend Rector, the teachers and students of the Orthodox St Tikhon Humanitarian University, who are studying the latest period of the history of our Church. They are helping to find common ground and ways to reestablish the fullness of brotherly communion within the Local Russian Orthodox Church. We have great sympathy and good will for the tireless efforts of the teachers who work here and the students, the future workers in the Vineyard of Christ. This love for our common history inspires and strengthens the relationship between the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Fatherland and in the diaspora, and I believe that genuinely fraternal cooperation and friendly relations will further tighten the bonds between us, and will bring great benefits.

The Russian Orthodox Church came together upon the bones of the New Martyrs and Confessors who suffered from the godless persecutions. We now have a great and glorious host of new sufferers. Infants and children, the elderly and the adults, princes and simple folk, men and women, bishops and parish priests, monks and laymen, Royal Passion-bearers and their subjects have formed a great host of many millions of martyrs of Russia, the glory and splendor of our Russian Orthodox Church. Our main task is to proclaim this glory, to preach the faith, the courage, staunchness and patience of our martyrs, who planted a seed in our souls, in the spirit of our people, who now bear the fruits of spiritual rebirth.

We must help to develop and strengthen these fruits in every way, we must unite our educational institutions, and service to the Church, with prayer to the Holy New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia, with veneration of their memory and imitation of their faith.

May Divine blessings visit all of you, and may the heavenly intercession of our New Martyrs and Confessors be with us, may they tend to our renewal. May peace and love increase among all of us! Amen."

During the discussion that followed, matters such as Orthodox witness in the West and parish life abroad were touched upon, as well as the specifics of parish life that helps preserve old Russian piety and culture abroad. The experiences of establishing the parish family, says Vladyka Gabriel of Manhattan, is the "talent that the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia can bring to the rebirth and churchification of the Russian people."

Vladyka Laurus noted that the matter of reestablishing unity after the official signing of the Act of Canonical Communion is continuing: there are joint services, delegations from abroad visit Russia, and groups of Russians visit parishes abroad. This movement is helping strengthen internal Church unity towards which the Russian Orthodox Church always strove.

In response to a question on the self-proclamation of independence of Kosovo, Bishop Peter of Cleveland stated: "I was born in the USA and am grateful to America, which gave me a great deal. But unfortunately, the West does not understand either the Russians or the Slavs. I speak openly about this despite the fact that I love the country I was born in. I do not know how to explain it, but I think that the West senses its spiritual bankruptcy in the face of Orthodox Christianity. The West fears Russian patriotism and Slavic unity."

In conclusion of the meeting Metropolitan Laurus presented the Rector with an icon of St. John of Shanghai and San-Francisco.

Additional materials:

Video: His Eminence speech to the assembly (4 min 8 sec, in Russian), 7.87 Mb

Photo: Report about the arrival and the meeting (using Flash)

Material was prepared using the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad website.