CHRISTIANITY MADE RUSSIA GREAT WORLD POWER – PUTIN
RIA Novosti. Sergei Guneev
23:18 25/07/2013
Tags: Christianization, Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill,
Vladimir Putin, Russia
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Patriarch Holds Service to Mark 1025th Anniversary of Russia’s Baptism
MOSCOW, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin on
Thursday praised the role of Orthodox Christianity in the country’s
history and congratulated the heads of the world’s Orthodox churches
on the 1025th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus,
a medieval state comprising parts of modern-day Russia, Ukraine
and Belarus.
“The adoption of Christianity became a turning point in the fate of our
fatherland, made it an inseparable part of the Christian civilization
and helped it turn into one of the largest world powers,” Putin said
in a message addressed to participants of a commemorative celebration
on Red Square, the Kremlin reported.
“It is Orthodoxy that gave Russia a powerful impetus for the
development and rise of culture and education,” the message says.
Putin also praised the Russian Orthodox Church’s role in developing
a constructive dialogue with other Orthodox churches as well as
international collaboration.
The Russian Orthodox Church’s leader, Patriarch Kirill, opened the
celebration.
“The foundation of our national, spiritual and cultural life was
laid 1025 years ago,” he said. “Our ancestors adopted the Christian
faith and, together with it, a system of values and morals … that
no historical upheavals were able to destroy.”
Despite the fact that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians live
in different countries today, the patriarch said, their spiritual
foundation remains common and unites the Slavic nations.