In recent days, the Department for external relations of the Patriarchate of Moscow issued a document regarding the white paper on “governance” published by the European Commission last June. “The Russian Orthodox Church says the statement is very interested in cooperation with the European Union but its participation must not be limited to questions of interethnic and interreligious dialogue. The representatives of the Church are ready to take part in the debate on the development of the system of pan-European security, on social problems, on the ethics deriving from the application of the new technologies, and on migration”. What may be the specific role of the Orthodox Church in this process of European construction? The document affirms that, “as an important institution of civil society in many post-Soviet countries, it is ready to guide the intercultural dialogue between the EU and the states of Eastern Europe that are not planning to become members of it”. C.S.
