In November 2015, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow witnessed a significant event - it hosted the grand opening of the XIX World Russian People's Cathedral. The participants of such a representative international forum, in addition to hierarchs and clergy, included representatives of all branches of state power, including representatives of the Russian government, law enforcement agencies, public organizations, as well as prominent figures in science and art, and even guests from near and far abroad.
The birth of a new social structure
The World People's Russian Council is an interstate non-profit structure, the purpose of which was the desire to consolidate the spiritual forces of all representatives of the Russian people, regardless of their country of residence. The main initiator of this global project was the Orthodox Church of Russia, with the support of the general public in 1993 officially registered a new organization. On this day, the constituent assembly of its first regional branch was held.
Basicbylaws
According to its charter, the World Russian People's Council is headed by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Every year, with his blessing, conciliar meetings are held, at which the most pressing issues of the current moment are considered. From the day the organization was created until his blessed death, it was headed by Alexy II, who was then replaced by the current Patriarch Kirill.
Between congresses of the cathedral, the work of the organization is managed by its permanent presidium, headed by its bureau. The Human Rights Center of the World Russian People's Council, which also does not stop its activities between convocations, is called upon to promote in every possible way the observance of the rights of representatives of all strata of society, regardless of political affiliation and religion.
Universal recognition of the activities of the organization
The need for its creation was quite obvious, since by that time the task of forming a civil society in the country had become especially acute. It was the concern for the future of Russia that united people of various social strata and political views, for whom the World People's Russian Council became a forum where they could discuss all aspects of the problem and outline ways to solve it. Since the founding of this organization, seventeen conciliar congresses have already been held in various cities of the country.
Every year the World People's Russian Council gained more and more authority in Russian society and forabroad. President Vladimir Putin took part in the work of its next plenary session, which took place in 2001, and four years later, granting him a consultative status in the United Nations was a vivid evidence of the recognition of the cathedral in the international arena. In the same year, the representative office of the ARNS, created under the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, began to work.
Cathedral Peace Initiative
In 2012, among other public organizations, the World Russian People's Council took an active part in the matter of all-round assistance in establishing peace in the Caucasus. Stavropol became the site of the opening of its next regional branch, whose task was to unite all those who wanted to stop the bloodshed in this vast region full of social, religious and political contradictions.
The cathedral opened in November 2015
The XIX World Russian People's Council (VRNS), held in November last year, was dedicated to a very important topic today - the realization of the spiritual heritage of Prince Vladimir in our days. The significance of the cathedral was emphasized by the greetings received from the head of state V. V. Putin and a large number of politicians. The work of the cathedral was led by Patriarch Kirill.
Addressing the audience, he spoke about the difficult path that the World People's Russian Council has traveled since its inception. His Holiness expressed his hope that right now this organization, which has joined forcesmillion people for the consolidation of Russian society, is ready to fully reveal its potential. Its members, adhering to different political views, remain united in the recognition of fundamental basic values.
Problems identified in the Patriarch's speech
Further, the chairman called on the XIX World Russian People's Council (VRNS) to consider the tragedy experienced by the people of the country at the beginning of the 20th century and left its mark on its entire subsequent history as one of the topics of its meetings. He paid special attention to the connection of these events with everything that happened during the terrible war years, when our country suffered greater losses than any other people in the world.
Separately, the head of the church drew the attention of the audience to the problems that have developed in the field of public education. According to him, it is necessary to create a single educational space for the formation of the young generation of the right approach to the perception of spiritual values, which from time immemorial have been basic for all members of Russian society. He noted the obvious miscalculations made in the creation of history and literature textbooks, on the basis of which the worldview of the younger generation is largely formed.
The role of the church in the consolidation of society
In his speech, Patriarch Kirill thanked God for the fact that the XIX World Russian People's Council (VRNS) became a platform for such a fruitful discussion, pursuing common goals, excluding any confrontation and fulfilledbenevolence. In this regard, he stressed that the church organization managed to create conditions for a constructive dialogue and open conversation, mainly because it is not a competitor of the political forces involved in the struggle for power. Such a position in no way corresponds to the purpose of the church and contradicts its basic principles.
A choice made a thousand years ago
Concerning the main theme, which was dedicated to the 19th World Russian People's Council, His Holiness the Patriarch pointed out the fallacy of the current assertions that the choice made by the baptist of Russia should be interpreted as European, as a result of which Russia is doomed to blind imitation of the Western model, without any reasoning, transferring their experience to their soil.
He also sharply criticized attempts to present the interaction of Byzantium and Russia as the attitude of civilization to barbarism. Such an approach, in his opinion, is a consequence of ignorance of the historical realities inherent in that time. Deep and comprehensive research shows that it was a dialogue of equal partners, and it served mutual benefit. The marriage concluded between Prince Vladimir and Princess Anna can be considered proof of this.
Only by discarding attempts to present the choice made a thousand years ago as European or Byzantine and unconditionally defining it as purely Russian, one can explain how the Russians managed to realize their spiritual and creative potential to such an extent. With unanimous approvalmet the words of the patriarch gathered in the hall that the legacy of the holy baptist of Russia is the covenant to build a society on the basis of universal solidarity, guided by highly humane Christian principles embedded in the teaching, which, thanks to Prince Vladimir, was revealed on the banks of the Dnieper. The main provisions of Patriarch Kirill's speech were reflected in the final document, which, upon completion, was adopted by the 19th World Russian People's Council.
Speech at the final meeting of the cathedral
At the closing session of the council, the main leitmotif of the speeches of most of the speakers was the concern that our society today will leave as a legacy to their descendants. The delegates emphasized that if the 2000s were marked by the restoration of the country after the chaos of the 1990s, now, having found solid ground under our feet, it is time to think about the future and the role assigned to us on the path that began with the baptism of Russia by the holy prince Vladimir.
