Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan highly appreciated the organization of the 10th meeting of the Group of Strategic Vision "Russia - Islamic World", which took place on December 11, 2024 in Malaysia. The Metropolitan also shared his opinion on the significance of such events, in which he participates with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
"This always evokes a feeling of mutual cooperation. You begin to understand that people with completely different views and beliefs are inclined and intend to do everything for life in peace and cooperation with each other", - Metropolitan Kirill noted. According to him, during the speeches of some religious leaders at such round tables, sounds interesting theological thoughts that are in tune not only with the Islamic but also the Christian world.
"Because all moral teaching and the teaching of godliness must be the law of life for each of us", - His Eminence explained. A person who loves God cannot hate people - this is the message of such meetings, and "this is a great thing", as the religious figure emphasized.
"We consider it possible to participate in such events and hope that these meetings will develop into personal, friendly and very good relations", - Metropolitan Kirill voiced the expectations of the Orthodox community. He also stated the need to change the paradigm of thoughts, which have recently been directed towards materialism, which has become a kind of religion for many. If in any environment of believers the main goal is to get closer to God, then evil and devilish obsession will leave their lives.
His Eminence said that the desire for holiness was inherent in Orthodox Holy Rus' as a certain idea of the existence of the state and the people. The desire for a pious and righteous life was also present in the Muslim communities that became part of Russia.
"Anger triumphs to the extent that we give it a place in our lives", - said Metropolitan Kirill. The troubles and misfortunes that are happening today are the result of God being removed from life. The goal in the life of a person, as a being in whom the divine principle is invested, is becoming aspirations that are not intended for him by God. The gradual rejection of the divine principle leads to the world being filled with the opposite principle, so it is important to return the image of piety. The Metropolitan also recalled that in Russia is taking place the Year of the Family.
"A normal family is a pious, religious, spiritual family, for whom the birth of children is a blessing from God, and not a burden on life", - the religious figure noted. The many divorces and the unwillingness to have children - "this tangle of problems", - as His Eminence put it - stem from distance from God's ways.
"These meetings, although they are of a political and economic nature, always have a certain religious component, which speaks of the need to return to godliness", - the metropolitan explained. He recalled the main Orthodox holiday - Easter, among whose hymns is the expression "Forgiveness on Sunday".
In this regard, Metropolitan Kirill spoke of the need to forgive each other and accept each other as they are. We must try to see good qualities in a person and develop them. His Eminence wished that, having felt the importance of such an attitude to life and to each other, people would strive to get to the Kingdom of Heaven.
"This is the Kingdom of God, where absolute justice and absolute love triumph. Therefore, the desire for it must return to our lives", - concluded Metropolitan Kirill of Tatarstan and Kazan.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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