Euroasian Jewish News

Patriach Cyril and the EAJC and Conference of European Rabbis delegation

Patiarch Cyril Meets With Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Leadership

On the 1st of December, a meeting between the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia with the leadership of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress headed by EAJC President Alexander Mashkevich and representatives of the Confererence of European Rabbis took place in the residence of the Patriarch.

The EAJC delegation contained the First Vice-President of the Congress Vitaliy Mashchitsky, Vice-Presidents Alexander Bronshtein, Mark Shabad, Edward Shifrin, Executive Vice-President Yuri Raskin, EAJC Secretary General Michael Chlenov, General Council Chairman Josef Zisels, and Congress Treasurer Fyodor Osinin.

The Delegation of the Conference of European Rabbis was headed by Deputy Chairman of the EAJC Rabbi Council, Head Rabbi of Russia Adolph Shaevich, and the Secretary General of the Council, Head Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldshmidt. The President of the Russian Jewish Congress Yuri Kanner also participated in the meeting.

During the meeting, the EAJC president spoke about the activity of the Congress in interconfessional dialogue and dialogue between peoples. After noting that the ideas of dialogue find their realization in real actions – in particular, not only synagogues are being rebuilt at the expense of the EAJC, but also mosques and churches – Alexander Mashkevich thanked the Patriarch for the high opinion of the Congress activity in this direction, marked by the awarding of the Saint Sergei Radonezhsky medal.

The Patriarch noted that over the dozens of years, despite the totalitarian atheistic regime and the persecution of believers of different confessions, Orthodox Christianity and Judaism both survived and never betrayed their dialogue.

The EAJC President noted in turn that today the contact at its established level is no longer enough, and spoke out with the initiative of creating a permanently active venue for Orthodox Christian and Jewish dialogue, which will aid the Russian Orthodox Church and Eurasian Jewry in rapprochement of their social positions.
In answer to the proposition, Patriach Cyril replied, “It depends on all of us, brothers, whether humans will live according to instinct or to moral law, and thus I support the initiative of the EAJC President to create a workgroup, which will allow us to work together will in different countries for the good of the world.”

To conclude the meeting, Alexander Mashkevich underscored, “The EAJC values the position of the Russian Orthodox Church highly, and we have reached an understanding of the necessity of a more involved cooperation.” Then he gave the Patriarch a memorial gift on behalf of the EAJC.