The Serbs are the most reliable Orthodox brothers of the Russians, the two churches defend common positions, for which the Russian Orthodox Church is grateful. This was stated by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill when welcoming the Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, reports BGNES.
"In the person of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), we have always had the most reliable of our fellow believers. Together at many Orthodox councils we have defended our common position. And by God's grace, if we have achieved any successes, our brothers from the SOC have also participated in them, so we remember with gratitude our good interactions," Patriarch Kirill emphasized.
The head of the SOC arrived on a visit to Russia for the prayerful send-off and funeral of the late Bishop Anthony, his vicar.
Although the reason for the visit to Moscow is not a joyful one, the Serbian Church is grateful to God for this visit, Patriarch Porfirije said in his turn, "For us Christians, there is no death - there is life. We know that life is a gift from God, and eternal life is not on earth - it is in the Kingdom of God."
The late Bishop Anthony of Moravia was a symbol of the ties between the two Churches and the two brotherly peoples, the Primate of the Serbian Church testified. "Thank you for lovingly accepting him as a son, as your and our brother, that in his person the unity of the Russian and Serbian Church, of the Russian and Serbian Orthodox people was visible to the world," Porfirije stressed. /BGNES
