Ecumenical dialogue conducted “at a grass roots level” and not just in commissions, but also the relationship with Islam and defence of Christian values at the heart of the visit of the Archbishop of Milan to the Patriarch of Moscow. The impending visit of Putin to the Pope : “Very pleased , Russia is a fundamental point of reference in the new world order .”
Moscow (AsiaNews) – First of all the issue of the “life of the Orthodox diocese of Milan”, but probably also the “common work in dialogue with Islam” and the protection of the Christian communities in the Middle East; these are the issues at the centre of the “courtesy call” paid by the Archbishop of Milan, Card. Angelo Scola, to the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill tomorrow , November 12, the Cardinal told press yesterday, the first of his three-day visit to Moscow at the invitation of the Archbishop of Mother of God, Msgr. Paolo Pezzi . Despite “not being related” to the forthcoming audience of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the Pope – as the same Scola was keen to stress – the visit is framed within a flurry of exchanges between the two Churches. In fact, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk , chairman of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, is currently in Rome to meet Pope Francis and present the book “Word of God and the word of man,” with contributions by the Russian philologist Serghei Averintsev . At the end of the month, then , the President of the Pontifical Council for the Family , Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia , is expected in Moscow to speak at a conference organized by the Orthodox Church, on the theme of family.