Moscow, December 17, 2015
On December 16, 2015, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with Head of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic (a constituent republic of southern Russia, on the north side of the Caucasus Mountains) Yury Alexandrovich Kokov and Archbishop Theophylact of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessk at the Patriarchal and Synodal Residence in the Moscow St. Daniel’s Monastery, reports the Patriarchal Press Service.
Bishop Savva of Voskresensk, first deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, also took part in the meeting.
Greeting Yu.A. Kokov, primate of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed his gratitude to the Head of Kabardino-Balkaria for his close and successful cooperation with the Diocese of Pyatigorsk, which was an important factor in strengthening interethnic accord in the region. “I am happy to see you with the archbishop. I have wanted to communicate with you and to talk about the present situation in Kabardino-Balkaria for a long time. I am aware that you are in very good relations with the diocese and the archbishop, and I want to thank you for these good relations because it is extremely important, especially giving the circumstances in North Caucasus, that these relationships be strong and stable and that they further, first of all, a peaceful life for people belonging to various religious groups,” His Holiness stressed.
“North Caucasus with its huge Muslim and Orthodox communities is a region where people face all kinds of challenges that can emerge, where people belonging to absolutely different cultures live together,” His Holiness Patriarch Kirill went on. “It is to the credit of its leaders that today we have peace in North Caucasus. Most of the credit belongs to those responsible for peace before the state and people, and, I believe, to the religious figures alike.”
“May God grant us to go from strength to strength in these relationships. May peace and justice always reign in the republics of North Caucasus, including Kabardino-Balkaria, which is so dear to my heart,” Patriarch Kirill added.
In his speech in reply, Yu.A. Kokov thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the meeting and his efforts in strengthening interreligious peace in Russia and throughout the world. “We always encourage your initiatives in this respect. That is surely a great priority for us,” the head of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic noted.
Yu.A. Kokov has related that a large delegation from Kabardino-Balkaria that is currently staying in Moscow has visited the Cathedral of the Archangel at the Moscow’s Kremlin, where lie the remains of a daughter of the Kabardian Prince Temryuk Aydarovich –Princess Guashana (Kuchenei) of Cherkessk, the second wife of Tsar Ivan (John) IV. The princess in Baptism took the name Maria.
The head of Kabardino-Balkaria also gave an account of his visit to the Moscow Novospassky Stavropegic Monastery, where representatives of many families of Cherkessk princes are buried. They served a number of Russian tsars and were called “Cherkessk Princes”. All this is indicative of the old and stable connections between the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria and the Russian people, Yu.A. Kokov noted, expressing his gratitude to Patriarch Kirill “for his attention to our common history.”
In the course of the talk, ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church in the region and the strengthening of peace and interfaith cooperation in North Caucasus were discussed.
