In a meeting between the World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow on 23rd June, the ecumenical relationship between the two parties has been renewed.

Currently, the WCC delegation is on a 7-day visit from 18th to 24th June in Moscow led by the WCC General Secretary Rev Dr Samuel Kobia. This is Kobia’s first official visit to the largest WCC member church - the Russian Orthodox Church.

Kobia's presence coincides with the visit of Cardinal Kasper, head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, marking a very special moment for the ecumenical movement of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Archbishop Nifon of Targoviste of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Dr Mary Tanner of the Church of England, Dr Robert Welsh of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, USA and WCC deputy General Secretary Mr Georges Lemopoulos are accompanying Kobia.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexis II, has expressed gratitude for actions of "authentic Christian solidarity" by ecumenical organisations during the Soviet period, and affirmed the commitment of his church to fully participate in the WCC.

He said membership in the WCC had helped the Church endure a period of isolation and persecution during the communist period.

New developments in some churches nowadays were said to be obstacles facing Christian unity, according to the patriarch. "We see growing divergences in the teaching and practice of church life. But we should continue the road of collaboration which we have together followed for decades."

Kobia agreed with the patriarch’s statement, saying that "a new institutional culture is emerging. Radical changes had been introduced in more than one area of the Council's life and witness, as well as at the level of its institutional and organisational expressions."

He promised that the Special Commission on Orthodox participation in the WCC founded in 1988 would lead the churches to go forward with "new understanding of the necessity and the possibility of praying together and responding together to our common calling."

On the other hand, Metropolitan Kyrill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church's foreign relations department, who has just met the Vatican envoy on Wednesday, questioned whether the ecumenical movement had achieved tangible progress towards Church unity in the light of the "growing gap" in the Churches' theological and ethical teaching today.

Kyrill and Kobia celebrated the recent development of the ecumenical relationship between the Russian Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church. Both of them are optimistic to the renewed ecumenical perspectives. Kyrill affirmed, "We can open a new page in the history of the ecumenical movement."

The growth of religious extremism and violence in the world, are the common concerns of the Russian Orthodox Church and the WCC. The patriarch expressed the Russian Church's desire to collaborate with WCC work, notably in the areas of peacemaking, inter-religious dialogue, and the protection of the creation.

The WCC delegation has visited several spiritual, social and educational centres, including the Moscow Theological Academy, the St. Tikhon's Orthodox University, and the social work of the St Dimitri Sisterhood.

The Churches' social and educational work was banned or heavily restricted during the communist era in Russia, however, through these visits, the WCC delegation were able to witness the revival of these institutions. Particular emphasis was given to the experiences of theological education as a way of transmitting moral values in society.

Apart from the visit to the Russian Orthodox Church, the WCC delegation met on 21st June with representatives of other Christian churches, organisations and movements in Moscow, including members of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Pentecostal and Armenian churches.

WCC General Secretary Kobia presented an overview of the WCC's main priorities and issues facing Churches and the ecumenical movement. The discussion covered concerns for religious freedom and tolerance in Russia, developments in world Christianity, and the renewed focus on spirituality in ecumenical life.