The Russian Orthodox Church hopes Moscow's actions against international terrorism will bring peace to the Middle East.
"We hope that, thanks to Russia's active involvement in the fight against international terrorism, changes for the better can soon take hold," Patriarch Kirill said today in Moscow. "We know that, due to other reasons and cases of discrimination, the international community is very worked up and keeps adopting various declarations and resolutions, but nothing like this has happened in defense of the Christians in the Middle East who are being eradicated." Patriarch Kirill stressed that he is doing everything in his power "to mobilize people to protect and support the Christians in the Middle East."
From November 9 until November 13, the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Ignatius Aphrem II, is visiting Moscow, where he's expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Alexey Pushkov, who heads the Duma's Foreign Relations Committee.