ecumenism" "
“I believe that God will lead us towards unity because the historical reasons for division the revolution, the civil war and the cold war no longer exist”. So said the spokesman of the Patriarchate of Moscow, arch-priest Vsevolod Chaplin, following the meeting held in recent days at Russia’s consulate general in New York between President Vladimir Putin and various exponents of the Russian Church abroad that split from the Mother Church of Moscow under the Communist regime. Referring to the “repeated invitations to dialogue” expressed by the Church of Moscow, Chaplin commented: “We hope that this invitation will be accepted”. According to two communiqués issued by the two Churches, Metropolitan Laurus of New York and eastern America, first head of the Russian Church abroad, and the members of the Synod of bishops, including Mercury of Zaraisk, have called for dialogue between their respective Churches. To this end, Russian President Putin, both personally and on behalf of Alexis II, patriarch of Moscow and of all the Russias, invited Metropolitan Laurus to visit Russia with his delegation in the near future. The Russian Church of the diaspora, which comprises some 300 parishes throughout the world and is in communion with no other Orthodox Church, indeed is hostile to the ecumenical policy of the other Churches, began in the Nineties to forge contacts, albeit still unofficial, with the Patriarchate of Moscow.
