"Church Ambassadors" to Play Role in Rebuilding Ties Between Russia, Georgia - Patriarch Kirill
MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax) - Sending a Russian priest to Georgia and a Georgian priest to Russia will play its part in resolving the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries, said Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
"Recently we exchanged our church ambassadors. If governments do not have ambassadors, then churches will. Someone has to represent the Russian Church, and therefore, to a significant extent, our people, before the Georgian people in Tbilisi," the patriarch said during his speech at the Russian Presidential Academy of Public Service on Tuesday.
The Russian Church will perform this mission through its official representatives in Tbillisi, he said.
"The very nature of the Church enables it to be a non-engaged party in any conflict resolution," he said.
It was reported last Friday that the Russian Church's Holy Synod decided to send archpriest Roman (Lukin) to the Georgian capital for the pastoral care of Russian-speaking believers. Later the Georgian Patriarchate announced its intention to send its archpriest Vakhtang (Liparteliani) to perform services in Georgian at a Georgian church in Russia.
