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President Vladimir Putin:

Your Holiness,

Dear hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church,

Our meeting is taking place at the time of the Bishops’ Council – a very important event not just for the Russian Orthodox Church, but without exaggeration for our entire society. So first of all let me wish you productive work.

I know that the Bishops’ Council is currently discussing many problems related to the everyday activities of religious groups. And many of them directly affect our entire society. I propose to discuss the most important problems during our meeting today.

I would like to say that I consider such direct and constant dialogue between the leaders of the state and the church to be exclusively beneficial.

As you know, at the recent meeting of the Council for cooperation with religious organizations, there was discussion of the church’s participation in the most important national task – that of overcoming the threat of terrorism and extremism.

As far as I know, the church fully shares our concerns. And I think that we must continue this discussion today.

Both hierarchs of the church and politicians have stated many times that religious slogans are increasingly being exploited by terrorists and extremists for their criminal goals. They try to inflame civil conflicts by playing on religious and nationalist feelings. They replace the main principles of traditional religions with their own pseudo-religious rhetoric. They cynically transform the foundations of goodness into propaganda of violence.

I think that you will agree: in many ways this has become possible because of a lack of moral standards in the society. It is also clear that this problem is often made worse by elementary religious ignorance.

Spiritual and moral enlightenment have always been an important task for any religion. And today it is an effective barrier against evil and hatred. It is a means to develop religious tolerance and mutual respect. And here the social service of the church and its missionary activity is irreplaceable.

Today your experience of dialogue between religions, your rich historical experience of achieving interconfessional consent, is particularly necessary as for centuries, the Orthodox clergy have been a unifying force for multi-ethnic Russian society. It was the bearer of traditions of peaceful coexistence of different cultures and different religions, and helped to strengthen the unity of the Russian state.

Today, the state has urgent need of trustworthy and influential partners. We count on your active participation in joint work, including in the Public Council of Russia.

But we also rely on your participation in social programmes, such as in dealing with homeless children and drug addiction, and organising social refuges and helping the elderly and invalids.

I am certain that in this area, it is very important to make use of the church’s rich traditions in matters of welfare and charity.

The state values the historic role of the Russian Orthodox Church very highly. And today we expect your help in spreading humanism and strengthening the national unity of Russia.

On its part, the state will also provide the necessary assistance to religious groups. As you already know, literally two days ago at the opening of the council I informed His Holiness that I had signed a law on a number of changes to Russian land legislation. A legal basis has been created for regulating issues of providing land without charge for the needs of religious organizations, either as property or for unpaid use. The state is gradually paying its historical debts to the church.

Let us now discuss the issues that you consider relevant, and I give the floor to the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexy II.

Please begin, your Holiness.