Patriarch of Moscow and all-Russia Aleksei II and members of the Holy Synod attended the reception on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan of the Eastern American and New York Diocese and head of the Bishops’ Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad Metropolitan Laurus attended on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad.
The reception was held in the Faceted Palace of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The meeting began with a photography session of the participants in the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square.
At the reception the head of state said that the reunification of the Church represents an important spiritual impetus for consolidating the entire Orthodox world, the entire Russian world. The President emphasised that restoring the Church’s unity was in large part possible thanks to the work of Patriarch Aleksei II and Metropolitan Laurus.
In his speech Aleksei II said that reunification will allow a united Church to work together so that Russia’s traditional spiritual values can act as the foundation of its constructive development. He thanked Mr Putin for his efforts to reunite the two churches.
In turn, Metropolitan Laurus declared that the moral duty of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad consists in reviving Russia, in completing the mission of Russian immigration, and in restoring the great legacy of its forefathers to Russia. Metropolitan Laurus thanked the President for ”taking care of the Russian people in the Fatherland and in the diaspora“ and gave Mr Putin a series of icons depicting the Kursk Root Icon of the Mother of God.
Head of the Presidential Administration and of the Presidential Council for Coordination with Religious Organisations Sergei Sobianin, First Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the Governmental Commission on Religious Organisations Dmitrii Medvedev, Minister of Culture and Information Aleksandr Sokolov all took part in the reception.