Russian Patriarch Thanks Abkhaz ‘President’

Russia’s new Patriarch Kirill sent a letter to Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, calling him “the President of Abkhazia.”

In the letter the Russian Patriarch tells Bagapsh that the Russian Church would “remain committed to the course” of his predecessor, Alexy II, “related to further development of brotherly relations between the people of Russia and Abkhazia.”

The letter, which was posted on the Russian patriarchate’s official website on February 11, was sent to thank the Abkhaz leader for congratulating Patriarch Kirill on his enthronement.

Meanwhile, the South Ossetian Press and Information Committee reported on February 12, that a similar latter of gratitude was sent to breakaway South Ossetia’s leader, Eduard Kokoity.

Patriarch Kirill told a delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which attended his enthronement in Moscow earlier this month, that relations between the two Churches should not depend on political developments between the two countries.

Metropolitan Gerasim of the Georgian Orthodox Church, who was in the delegation, told journalists after the meeting: “We hope and his [Russian Patriarch’s] words confirm it that the Russian Church will still continue to support the unity of the Georgian Church and we hope that he will help us to achieve actual and not fictitious restoration of functioning of the Georgian church there [in breakaway regions], that will promote the unification of our country.”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)