October 15, 2018 at the Palace of Independence in Minsk was held the meeting of his Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril with the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, reports patriarhiei.
The President of the Republic of Belarus met with his Holiness Patriarch at the main entrance to the Palace. In a solemn ceremony of welcoming the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was attended by a guard of honor.
His Holiness and Alexander Lukashenko went to the second floor of the Palace and went to the Fireplace. After exchange of greetings the President of the Republic of Belarus addressed to His Holiness, with the word:
“Dear Lord! Welcome to our native Belarus. Always on the eve of our meetings remember the period of Your Church’s Ministry until his elevation to the Patriarchal dignity. We in Belarus remain very fond memories. As I already told You, I have remained in the memory of Your travel from Smolensk to Kaliningrad — certainly within our Belarus. Probably since You fell in love with the land, not someone else for You.
Now this is very important. I want You to clearly understand my position — even though I try not to make any statements, but nowhere on it does not go anywhere. Unfortunately, our Church is very often in its history became hostage to bilateral relations, sometimes our wrong actions. God sees everything and will sort out who is right and who is wrong. But You must know our unwavering national position: the split is always bad, and its effects are most dangerous.
So we are very sensitive to what is happening today in Orthodoxy. Peace, grace, You feel it not less but maybe even more than me, perceiving his heart, — the world has changed, and not for the better. Holds hostage the entire population of our planet… And I want to wish you wisdom, patience — You and all the hierarchs of our Church. And we as a congregation will try to maintain the unity of all, to keep peace on earth, too close we have come to a dangerous point.
Your arrival in Minsk, in Belarus, it is highly relevant. Probably the way the Lord ordained in some serious moments we find ourselves in Minsk, politicians and clergy. I really appreciate it and it to much obliges us. And we, Lord, will deal with it”.
In his speech his Holiness Patriarch Kirill said:
“By the grace of God. Thank You, Your Excellency, dear Mr. President, Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Every time I come to Belarus, I have a good mood. And You’re right, with Belarus is connected a very large part of my life: although I did not live here, but transit through Belarus moved almost every third week. I saw how Belarus lives, and can compare what it was in 1990-e years, and that has now become. The changes are huge. When you come to Belarus, especially in Minsk, you see these vast spaces, filled with air, clean beautiful streets, you know: the President, the authorities pay special attention to the quality of people’s lives. Because life in big cities is stressful, and if in a big city created a cozy living space, it means that about the people here think.
Today, a lot of the problem stems from our technological development. Whether we like or not, human civilization is developing so that because of the sinful desire to increase the consumption of each person (and this desire is sinful) necessarily develops the industry, and hence the pollution of the environment and more, to the detriment of man. Therefore, the concern of the government about the environment, the cultural environment, the spiritual environment suggests that the most important, strategic goals and objectives, from which really depends the future of humanity, are taken into account.
I would like to thank You for Your attitude to the Belarusian Orthodox Church and the issues that we briefly talked. Indeed, the quality of human life and determines the success of politicians. And quality includes not only wages, but also everything that surrounds us, provides his well-being.
Once again I would like to emphasize the well-being of the religious life in Belarus. First and foremost, I would like to thank You for Church-state relations on the lines of dialogue of the Government of Belarus with the Belarusian Orthodox Church.”
In memory of the meeting, the Primate of the Russian Church gave the head of state of the Tikhvin icon of the Mother of God.
At the end of the conversation Alexander Lukashenko and Patriarch Kirill went to the Great hall, where was held the meeting of the President of the Republic of Belarus with members of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and members of the Synod of the Belarusian Orthodox Church.