Interreligious cooperation is an advantage and a necessity of today's Russia
On 2nd of August, a delegation of the RBM RF visited the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and met with the head of the department, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Doctor of Theology. The delegation of Russian Muslims was headed by Acting Chairman of the RBM RF, Rector of the Moscow Islamic Institute, Head of the Center for Islamic Studies of St. Petersburg State University, Executive Secretary of the Muslim International Forum, Doctor of Theology Damir Mukhetdinov. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chairman for Internal Affairs Ravil Seifetdinov from the RBM RF and Priest Dimitri Safonov, Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, from the DECR.
The DECR, which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishment this year, is the church structure responsible for the external relations of the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church). The department also carries out contacts with religious circles in the Muslim world. Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the department, in turn, represents the Russian Orthodox Church in the work of the Interreligious Council of Russia, and also heads the educational institution "General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius" and the joint dissertation council of this educational institution.
The areas of cooperation between the DECR and the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, on the one hand, and the structural divisions of the RBM RF responsible for the development of international cooperation, science and education, on the other, are the strengthening of interreligious dialogue and relevant scientific research, as well as the development of theology as a branch of scientific knowledge. A reliable platform for mutual understanding and joint action of religious institutions of Islam and Orthodoxy is provided by adherence to traditional values, first of all – the institution of family and marriage, which the participants of the conversation did not fail to note.
The areas of cooperation between the DECR and the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, on the one hand, and the structural divisions of the RBM RF responsible for the development of international cooperation, science and education, on the other, are the strengthening of interreligious dialogue and relevant scientific research, as well as the development of theology as a branch of scientific knowledge. A reliable platform for mutual understanding and joint action of religious institutions of Islam and Orthodoxy is provided by adherence to traditional values, first of all – the institution of family and marriage, which the participants of the conversation did not fail to note.
As Damir Mukhetdinov stressed, for more than 20 years of its existence, the Interreligious Council of Russia has played a great role in the interaction and cooperation of religious traditions and their joint action. Noting that a new generation of clergy has grown up over the past decades, and time poses new challenges and requirements for religious institutions, Damir Mukhetdinov called for developing the activities of the Interreligious Council of Russia in accordance with new realities, filling the interreligious dialogue with intellectual content.
"The interaction between our religions and between our structures should be the close. We have one history, we have one people and we inherited this history many centuries ago and this is in many ways a unique situation, " Metropolitan Hilarion stressed in response to the remark of the Muslim figure. The bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church recalled the activities of the Expert Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia on interaction with the Islamic world, and also emphasized the role of the Interreligious Council of Russia in preserving and strengthening civil unity and harmony in the country.
Being one of the leading Christian theologians in modern Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion also touched upon the topic of the development of theology as a branch of science, noting the participation of Russian Muslims in the formation of theology in modern Russia and expressing congratulations to Damir-Hazrat Mukhetdinov, the first in the history of Russia to defend a doctoral dissertation on Islamic theology at a state university.
The intensification of cooperation is becoming particularly relevant in the light of the World Conference on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, which is being prepared in May 2022 in St. Petersburg jointly with the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. As Damir Mukhetdinov stressed during the meeting, today the Russian experience of the coexistence of religions is of particular interest to the European Community, as he was again convinced during his recent visits to the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The 1100th anniversary of the official adoption of Islam by the peoples of Volga Bulgaria, which Russia intends to celebrate at the federal level in 2022 on the initiative of the spiritual leader of Russian Muslims, Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, once again underlines the depth and strength of the traditions of interreligious interaction and brotherhood on the territory of Russia.
Having presented a number of projects and intellectual platforms of the RBM RF involving interreligious participation, including the Muslim International Forum, the journal of theological thought "Minaret of Islam", the vakov magazine "Islam in the Modern World" and others, Damir Mukhetdinov paid special attention to the book series "Interreligious Dialogue". The book that opened this series was the first Russian translation of Pope Francis 'encyclical" All Brothers". The Muslim religious figure called on his Orthodox counterpart to work together on publications that would present the position and views of modern Christianity on interreligious dialogue to the general public.
The meeting ended with an exchange of memorable gifts and book novelties.
The DECR, which is celebrating the 75th anniversary of establishment this year, is the church structure responsible for the external relations of the ROC (Russian Orthodox Church). The department also carries out contacts with religious circles in the Muslim world. Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the department, in turn, represents the Russian Orthodox Church in the work of the Interreligious Council of Russia, and also heads the educational institution "General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius" and the joint dissertation council of this educational institution.
The areas of cooperation between the DECR and the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, on the one hand, and the structural divisions of the RBM RF responsible for the development of international cooperation, science and education, on the other, are the strengthening of interreligious dialogue and relevant scientific research, as well as the development of theology as a branch of scientific knowledge. A reliable platform for mutual understanding and joint action of religious institutions of Islam and Orthodoxy is provided by adherence to traditional values, first of all – the institution of family and marriage, which the participants of the conversation did not fail to note.
The areas of cooperation between the DECR and the General Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies, on the one hand, and the structural divisions of the RBM RF responsible for the development of international cooperation, science and education, on the other, are the strengthening of interreligious dialogue and relevant scientific research, as well as the development of theology as a branch of scientific knowledge. A reliable platform for mutual understanding and joint action of religious institutions of Islam and Orthodoxy is provided by adherence to traditional values, first of all – the institution of family and marriage, which the participants of the conversation did not fail to note.
As Damir Mukhetdinov stressed, for more than 20 years of its existence, the Interreligious Council of Russia has played a great role in the interaction and cooperation of religious traditions and their joint action. Noting that a new generation of clergy has grown up over the past decades, and time poses new challenges and requirements for religious institutions, Damir Mukhetdinov called for developing the activities of the Interreligious Council of Russia in accordance with new realities, filling the interreligious dialogue with intellectual content.
"The interaction between our religions and between our structures should be the close. We have one history, we have one people and we inherited this history many centuries ago and this is in many ways a unique situation, " Metropolitan Hilarion stressed in response to the remark of the Muslim figure. The bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church recalled the activities of the Expert Council under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia on interaction with the Islamic world, and also emphasized the role of the Interreligious Council of Russia in preserving and strengthening civil unity and harmony in the country.
Being one of the leading Christian theologians in modern Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion also touched upon the topic of the development of theology as a branch of science, noting the participation of Russian Muslims in the formation of theology in modern Russia and expressing congratulations to Damir-Hazrat Mukhetdinov, the first in the history of Russia to defend a doctoral dissertation on Islamic theology at a state university.
The intensification of cooperation is becoming particularly relevant in the light of the World Conference on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue, which is being prepared in May 2022 in St. Petersburg jointly with the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. As Damir Mukhetdinov stressed during the meeting, today the Russian experience of the coexistence of religions is of particular interest to the European Community, as he was again convinced during his recent visits to the Balkans and Eastern Europe. The 1100th anniversary of the official adoption of Islam by the peoples of Volga Bulgaria, which Russia intends to celebrate at the federal level in 2022 on the initiative of the spiritual leader of Russian Muslims, Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, once again underlines the depth and strength of the traditions of interreligious interaction and brotherhood on the territory of Russia.
Having presented a number of projects and intellectual platforms of the RBM RF involving interreligious participation, including the Muslim International Forum, the journal of theological thought "Minaret of Islam", the vakov magazine "Islam in the Modern World" and others, Damir Mukhetdinov paid special attention to the book series "Interreligious Dialogue". The book that opened this series was the first Russian translation of Pope Francis 'encyclical" All Brothers". The Muslim religious figure called on his Orthodox counterpart to work together on publications that would present the position and views of modern Christianity on interreligious dialogue to the general public.
The meeting ended with an exchange of memorable gifts and book novelties.