Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, Your Holiness.
Patriarch Kirill: Good afternoon.
Vladimir Putin: Congratulations on your enthronement anniversary.
Patriarch Kirill: Thank you very much.
Vladimir Putin: You know, we often turn to the role that the Russian Orthodox Church has played in Russia throughout its history and in the strengthening of our nation.
The Patriarch, however, also has many worldly concerns related to the management of such a fairly big system. The service to the Lord and our people must be properly organised. I would like to commend your managerial talent that you have shown since your enthronement, when you took charge of both the spiritual domain and organisational matters.
The life of the Russian Orthodox Church has certainly changed. Considerable efforts have been made to consolidate the parishes and strengthen the church’s administrative bodies. This is obviously your personal success. This result streamlines the effective work in the spiritual domain, which is your priority.
Thank you very much for your work. My congratulations.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia: I heartily thank you, Mr President.
I also want to express my gratitude. I believe the relationship between the church and the state that has evolved with your direct participation as the President of our country, is unique in Christian history, particularly in Russia. Under tsars, everything went smoothly; however, the tsar was the head of the church, effectively making it part of the state apparatus.
Consequently, when the tsar was deposed during the Revolution, the church also became a target of persecution. This was followed by the extremely harsh years of persecution and repression against the church. Ultimately, the Lord had mercy on the church and our Orthodox Christian people.
The current level of relationship between the state and the church in Russia convincingly shows that, firstly, the state pursues the appropriate policy towards the church, and secondly, that the church enjoys a proper status in society and offers spiritual support to the nation.
For this, tremendous credit goes to you. We appreciate your personal contribution to the church-state relationship very much. I once again heartily thank you for the greetings and want to say how much I appreciate your efforts.
May God help you to further work for the glory of the Fatherland and for the good of our people.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much.
This process began under the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, and Patriarch Alexy II. You and I are just continuing this work with God’s help and to the best of our ability.
Patriarch Kirill: You are absolutely right.
Vladimir Putin: We will keep working in this direction.
Patriarch Kirill: Thank you, I appreciate it.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.