Notre Dame cathedral 2007. . While a meeting is likely, a number of festering issues still stand in its way. . by Cristina Giuliano 44 . east . europe and asia strategies number 37 . july 2011 . 45 Kirill and Benedict: The Waiting Game Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill clearly respects Pope Benedict XVI, his Roman Catholic counter part. . But organizing a meeting between the two spiritual leaders is easier said than done. Kirill is held back by conservative forces that disdain his respect for the German pontiff and hold a grudge for an ecumenical Mass his predecessor participated in at Paris’ RUSSIA h alf-a-century later, the film adaptation of Morris West’s novel “The Shoes of the Fisherman” makes for interesting viewing. The story line is this: After 20 years in a Soviet gulag, Metropolitan Kirill Lakota, the archbishop of Lviv, the Vatican and the Moscow reach a deal to free him. Brought to Rome by Father David Tele- mond, a theologian on the rocks for his unorthodox views, he’s received pope and eventually elevated to car- dinal. When the pope dies, Lakota is elected pontiff, tak- ing the name Cyril. The movie was made in 1968 and presaged a real-life event, namely the election of a pope from a Soviet bloc nations, the archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojyla, who as- cended to the papacy in 1978, becoming the first non-I- talian pope in nearly five centuries. Since then much has changed in the delicate spiritual balancing act between East and West. If Wojtyla’s election changed the face of the church, his Polish nationality made a meeting with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch all but impossible. Today’s Kirill isn’t Roman Catholic pope but the head of the Russian Church and Alexy II’s succes- sor. Considered more open to dialogue with the Vatican than his predecessor, at least at first, the realities of office have hardened his stance. When he was still Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kalin- irill is a great communicator. He understands the role of the media and knows how to use it, much in the vein of Pope John Paul. He’s a well-known face Russian television and perceived as something of a foreign affairs minister for the Orthodox Church. He’s al- so extremely active in promoting ecumenical dialogue. The importance of that role has grown since Benedict took office. “Orthodox Russians we feel very close to his [Bene- dict’s] way of thinking,” Kirill said in a recent interview, recalling that he’d first met future pope Ratzinger in 1974, while he was still a university professor in Germany. It’s no secret that Alexy II’s right hand man (as Kirill was always perceived) is highly valued by the Vatican. Too much for the Orthodox Church’s conservative wing. They were particularly disdainful of a de facto vis- it Alexy II made to Paris, which was organized by Kirill. Some representatives of the Patriarchate were outraged by Alexy’s visit to Notre-Dame de Paris, where he prayed solemnly before the relics of the Passion. The act represented an anomaly for a young church ingrad, the position he held before his ascent, Kirill met three times with Pope Benedict XVI, former German Car- dinal Josef Ratzinger. On April 25, 2005, the day after the pope installation Mass, he stressed the need for coopera- tion between the two churches in an effort to defend Christian values in Europe. On May 18, 2006, he returned to Rome to bless the new church of the Patriarchate of Moscow, situated not far from St. Peter’s Basilica. His meeting with Benedict, he said at the time, had yielded “a very important conversa- tion regarding the prospects of development in our rela- tions.” It was “time for our churches to work together, foremost to preserve Christianity in Europe,” he added, repeating the same theme as the year before. The last of the three meeting came on December 7, 2007, when Kir- ill again visited the Vatican. H Hilarion Alfeyev, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and chairman of the Department of External Church Relations, looks at Pope Benedict XVI as the pontiff leafs through a concert booklet. A concert dedicated to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was held at the Vatican in May 2010. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Orthodox Patriarch Kirill together in May 2011, ahead of celebrations for the Day of the Cyrillic Alphabet in Moscow. AP Photo / Ria Novosti, A. Druzhinin, Pool APPhoto / P.P. Cito K
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Notre Dame cathedral 2007. . While a
meeting is likely, a number of festering issues
still stand in its way. . by Cristina Giuliano
44 . east . europe and asia strategies number 37 . july 2011 . 45
Kirill and Benedict:The Waiting GameRussian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill clearly respects Pope Benedict XVI, his Roman Catholic
counter part. . But organizing a meeting between the two spiritual leaders is easier said
than done. Kirill is held back by conservative forces that disdain his respect for the German
pontiff and hold a grudge for an ecumenical Mass his predecessor participated in at Paris’
RUSSIA
half-a-century later, the film adaptation of MorrisWest’s novel “The Shoes of the Fisherman” makesfor interesting viewing. The story line is this: After
20 years in a Soviet gulag, Metropolitan Kirill Lakota, thearchbishop of Lviv, the Vatican and the Moscow reach adeal to free him. Brought to Rome by Father David Tele-mond, a theologian on the rocks for his unorthodoxviews, he’s received pope and eventually elevated to car-dinal. When the pope dies, Lakota is elected pontiff, tak-ing the name Cyril.
The movie was made in 1968 and presaged a real-lifeevent, namely the election of a pope from a Soviet blocnations, the archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojyla, who as-cended to the papacy in 1978, becoming the first non-I-talian pope in nearly five centuries.
Since then much has changed in the delicate spiritualbalancing act between East and West. If Wojtyla’s electionchanged the face of the church, his Polish nationalitymade a meeting with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch allbut impossible. Today’s Kirill isn’t Roman Catholic popebut the head of the Russian Church and Alexy II’s succes-sor. Considered more open to dialogue with the Vaticanthan his predecessor, at least at first, the realities of officehave hardened his stance.
When he was still Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kalin-
irill is a great communicator. He understands therole of the media and knows how to use it, muchin the vein of Pope John Paul. He’s a well-known
face Russian television and perceived as something of aforeign affairs minister for the Orthodox Church. He’s al-so extremely active in promoting ecumenical dialogue.The importance of that role has grown since Benedict tookoffice. “Orthodox Russians we feel very close to his [Bene-dict’s] way of thinking,” Kirill said in a recent interview,recalling that he’d first met future pope Ratzinger in 1974,while he was still a university professor in Germany.
It’s no secret that Alexy II’s right hand man (as Kirillwas always perceived) is highly valued by the Vatican.
Too much for the Orthodox Church’s conservativewing. They were particularly disdainful of a de facto vis-it Alexy II made to Paris, which was organized by Kirill.Some representatives of the Patriarchate were outragedby Alexy’s visit to Notre-Dame de Paris, where he prayedsolemnly before the relics of the Passion.
The act represented an anomaly for a young church
ingrad, the position he held before his ascent, Kirill metthree times with Pope Benedict XVI, former German Car-dinal Josef Ratzinger. On April 25, 2005, the day after thepope installation Mass, he stressed the need for coopera-tion between the two churches in an effort to defendChristian values in Europe.
On May 18, 2006, he returned to Rome to bless the newchurch of the Patriarchate of Moscow, situated not farfrom St. Peter’s Basilica. His meeting with Benedict, hesaid at the time, had yielded “a very important conversa-tion regarding the prospects of development in our rela-tions.” It was “time for our churches to work together,foremost to preserve Christianity in Europe,” he added,repeating the same theme as the year before. The last ofthe three meeting came on December 7, 2007, when Kir-ill again visited the Vatican.H
Hilarion Alfeyev, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and chairman
of the Department of External Church Relations,
looks at Pope Benedict XVI as the pontiff leafs through
a concert booklet. A concert dedicated to Patriarch
Kirill of Moscow was held at the Vatican in May 2010.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Orthodox Patriarch
Kirill together in May 2011, ahead of celebrations
for the Day of the Cyrillic Alphabet in Moscow.
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Dru
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in,P
ool
APPh
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MANEUVERING• Benedict XVI has appointed a new apostolic nuncio toRussia, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Titular Archbishop ofKrbava. He was previously apostolic nuncio in Ukraine. Theappointment came two days after Benedict met RussianPresident Dmitri Medvedev on Feb. 17.• On March 30, Kirill received the new Italian ambassadorto Moscow, Antonio Zanardi Landi, who was formerly theHoly See’s Russian envoy. He brought Kirill a gift from Flo-rence Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, which included relicsfrom St. Pantaleo and the holy martyrs of Aquileia.• Moscow awaits the publication of the translation of a bo-ok by Italian jurist Carlo Cardia titled “L’identità religiosa eculturale europea. La questione del crocefisso” (“ReligiousIdentity and European Culture: The Issue of the Crucifix”).It will contain forewords by Italian Foreign Minister FrancoFrattini and Council of Ministers Secretary Gianni Letta. .
leap when Kirill expressed full solidarity with ItalianPrime Minister Silvio Berlusconi regarding the Stras-bourg ruling that banned the placement of crucifix inschools. The Italian government immediately appealed,earning the support of 10 members of the Council of Eu-rope, Russia foremost among them.
ope Benedict is hopeful a meeting will occur. Inthe interview-book “Light of the World,” the pon-tiff expressed a clear wish to meet Kirill. “The
possible context for such a meeting is constantly matur-ing,” he says. He welcomed a Kirill’s gesture to celebratethe fifth anniversary of his election with a concert con-ducted by bishop and Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Hi-larion Alfeyev, chairman of the Department of ExternalChurch Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The lattersaid he hoped that “we don’t just get a meeting betweena pope and a patriarch but between Pope Benedict andPatriarch Kirill.” Such a meeting is “possible,” said Hi-larion, but only after a solution to the ongoing conflict be-tween Catholics and Orthodox in Ukraine. “Pope Bene-dict enjoys the positive consideration of the Russian bish-ops for defending Christian tradition,” says Hilarion.
Kirill told the new president of the Pontifical Councilfor Promoting Christian Unity, Swiss Cardinal Kurt Koch,that he specifically wants a meeting with Benedict. But
he wants the groundwork laid out meticulously and toensure his own faithful to be ready for the encounter. On-ly under such circumstances will the meeting actuallyrepresent a step forward.
Two years after his enthronement Kirill is still workingto unite the Orthodox Church, giving it the peace of mindnecessary to appreciate and covet the milestone an offi-cial meeting with the pope would represent. He’s seekingto turn down the volume, hoping by doing so to tonedown the media focus. Under a barrage of scrutiny, ameeting under a magnifying lens might be difficult, giv-en its ceremonial and protocol aspects.
Timing is also an issue. Kirill meeting the pope beforevisiting sister churches in Syria and Lebanon, as traditionrequires, wouldn’t work out well. He has been scheduledto go in November 2010, but that visit was postponed, al-legedly because of instability in Beirut. So when is he go-ing? Trips taken by both pope and patriarch are elaborateproductions. Months of planning are necessary. Kirill us-es two aircraft. Organizers are often bewildered.
A meeting between them might best be left to chance,or providence. .
46 . east . europe and asia strategies number 37 . july 2011 . 47
Benedict has repeatedly called for ecumenical dia-logue. In February 2009 he entrusted German CardinalWalter Kasper, then president of Pontifical Council forPromoting Christian Unity, with a letter to hand-deliverto Kirill. It spoke of “esteem and spiritual closeness” andreiterated its desire for “good relations” and mutual ac-ceptance. Recently, Russian President Dmitri Medvedevhas visited the Vatican twice, the last time in February.After the 2009 decision to open full diplomatic relationsbetween the two states, little else was expected, at leastnot in the short term. In terms of the Vatican’s relationswith Moscow, the leading problems still include worriesabout the status of the Russian Catholic Church’s role andissues related to restitution of property usurped by theSoviets. No doubt the Vatican and Moscow have dis-cussed the possibility of a meeting between the leaders oftheir churches. The bond between the Russian state andits Orthodox Church is strong, which gave Medvedevs’svisits additional importance in terms of ties betweenMoscow Patriarchate and the Vatican.
Interestingly, relations between the Russian OrthodoxChurch and the Italian state recently made a quantum
that’s still eager to affirm its identity and whose unity isstill vulnerable as a result.
Nonetheless, that October 2007 moment at Notre Damerepresented an instance of immense hope and inspira-tion. Some 3,000 Christians, Catholics and OrthodoxChristians gathered together in the cathedral. Together,in stunningly beautiful surroundings, they intoned“Salve Regina,” accompanied by a majestic organ. Morethan 300 representatives of various religious hierarchieswere present, including cardinals, archbishops, metro-politans, bishops, canons, priests, abbots and the priorsof monasteries. All had been prepared with great care.
“Laudate Dominum” echoed through the church’sGothic innards as Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois, thearchbishop of Paris, Monsignor Patrick Jacquin, rectorand archpriest of the cathedral, welcomed Alexy II at thecentral portal. The patriarch’s gift was an icon of theMother of God of Vladimir.
Later came the procession up the north aisle to thechapel of Saint-Denis, to venerate the icon of St. Diony-sus, the Holy Crown of Thorns, and other Passion relics.In terms of ecumenism and its symbols, all seemed per-fect, perhaps too much so. The Notre Dame pageantryseemed like the precursor to the main event, a papal meet-ing, which since then has been slow in coming.
uch a meeting could actually happen at any time,even casually, if the two figures happened to findthemselves in the same country. It could happen,
that is, if Orthodox Church resistance wasn’t so strong; ifpriests in Siberia, Moldova and Ukraine didn’t volleycritical comments Kirill’s. He’s been accused of cozyingup to the Vatican. Kirill’s orchestration of the Notre Dameevent is still held against him. Then there’s media atten-tion, which has reinforced the controversy. When he be-came patriarch amid a swirl of incense and the solemnchanting that dominates Eastern liturgy, Kirill was askedto prove to his own church the exact opposite of what theCatholic world hoped and expected from him. The 16th
Moscow Patriarch, he was also the first to emerge in thepost-Communist era. In essence, he was asked to pledgeallegiance to his own. His internal hierarchy seeks astrengthening of the church, and not only numerically.The Orthodox faith is seen as being threatened by secu-larism and general indifference to religion. Kirill’s task,at least in that regard, is similar in scope to Ratzinger’s.
Kirill conducts an Easter service
in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow in April 2011.
The pope receiving Kirill when he was still
Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kalimimgrad.
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