On December 7, 2023, a solemn meeting of the Interreligious Council of Russia dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the founding of this organization was held in the Malachite Hall of the Danilovsky Hotel complex in Moscow. The meeting was chaired by the Honorary Chairman of the ICR, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The meeting was attended by members of the Presidium of the MSR: Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Sheikh-ul-Islam Mufti Talgat Tajuddin, Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin, Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan Mufti Kamil Samigullin, Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar of Russia, Chief Rabbi of Russia Adolf Shaevich.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church welcomed those present and made a presentation.
Further, the chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Mufti Talgat Tajuddin, spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the deep historical roots of the interaction of traditional religions of Russia, which was carried out before the creation of the MSR.
The Chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia also touched upon the problem of migrants, drawing attention to educational work among those who come to our country. "The preservation and enhancement of the achieved level of civil harmony is our sacred duty," he said.
"The current era will certainly go down in the history of mankind as an epochal turning point — the unification of Russia and the Islamic world around traditional spiritual and moral values, around adherence to traditional morality," R. Gainutdin further said. — I am convinced that we, the spiritual pastors of our peoples, must support this intention and move along the path of unity and unification. Now is exactly the moment when our Fatherland needs to strengthen the union of Orthodoxy and Islam."
In his speech, the Chief Rabbi of Russia, Adolf Shaevich, emphasized the contribution of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill to the development of the MSR. "We must support all aspirations, everything that is being done in modern Russia in order to show the world that we are inflexible, that we are together in any situation,— A. Shaevich stressed. "I am sure that our unity, which has been going on for many years, will give its results."
The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berl Lazar, drew the attention of the meeting participants to the cohesion and unity that has always been present at the meetings and in the work of the MSR for 25 years. "Thank you for your testimony, for bringing us all together," he said, addressing Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
Then there was a speech by Shafig Pshikhachev, Plenipotentiary representative of the Coordinating Center of Muslims of the North Caucasus in Moscow, who, in particular, thanked the Russian Orthodox Church and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill personally for "supporting all initiatives from Muslims that bring us closer, support our mutual understanding and cooperation."
For his part, the plenipotentiary representative of the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia in Moscow, Did Khambo-Lama Dashinima Sodnomdorjiev, in particular, stressed that religion not only has not left public life, but, on the contrary, it is believers who play an important, consolidating role in building a responsible civil society. "Traditional moral values are the main and time-tested foundation of social construction," Lama Dashinima Sodnomdorjiev said.
Speaking to the participants of the meeting, Mufti Kamil Samigullin, Chairman of the Spiritual Board of Muslims of Tatarstan, noted that Russia is a multinational country and a homeland for peoples of different faiths, which, of course, is broadcast at the state level.
Developing the thesis of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the problem of abortion in Russian society, the mufti, in particular, said: "I am sure that it is necessary to fight this vice already at the stage of moral education of children and youth, because the main cause of abortions is adultery, extramarital affairs. Recently, the concept of chastity has been freely destroyed in society. Therefore, young people are in a spiritual impasse, from which they must be brought out."
Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations and representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in the MSR, presented the draft statement of the MSR to the meeting participants. A discussion took place, following which a corresponding statement was adopted.
At the end of the meeting, a commemorative photograph was taken of the members of the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia.