RSS
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia arrived in Bucharest, on a three-day visit
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia arrived on Thursday in Bucharest, on a three-day visit, the first visit to Romania by a head of the Russian church since the end of communism.NATO and European Union member Romania has cool relations with Russia, but the countries share cultural and religious ties through their respective Orthodox churches, AP correspondent reports.
voicing joy at walking on Romania's soil and underlining the shared Christian Orthodox values of the Russian and Romanian people.
"I am very happy to walk on Romania's soil. (...) The values of Orthodoxy are shared by Romanians, Russians, by Russia and by all the other Christian Orthodox nations. Good relations among people can exist only when they have shared values," Patriarch Kirill said.
Upon his arrival at the Henri Coanda International Airport, Kirill was greeted by Patriarch Daniel of Romania's Christian Orthodox Church (BOR).
Kirill arrived Thursday, a day ahead of a service celebrating ten years since Patriarch Daniel was elected head of the Romanian Orthodox church. Kirill and Daniel will lead Friday's service, joined by senior Orthodox bishops from Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Some 87 percent of Romania's 19 million are Orthodox. The collapse of communism in 1989 paved the way for more religious freedoms, and the church quickly became more popular.