The message reads, in part:
“Your many years of service to the Russian Orthodox Church and to people have great importance for all of Russian society and have earned you a high reputation. You are particularly respected for your efforts to cultivate dialogue between the Church and the state, including through the Council for Cooperation with Religious Organisations.
You have made a big contribution to organising the annual Slavonic Literature and Culture Festival, and are helping to ensure spiritual and moral education for our youth and preserve our country’s cultural and historical heritage.”
Mr Medvedev issued a presidential executive order decorating Metropolitan Juvenaly, who is a permanent member of the Russian Orthodox Church Holy Synod and oversees the Moscow diocese, with the Order for Services to the Fatherland, III degree for his great contribution to fostering spiritual and moral traditions and his active educational work.