His Holiness Patriarch Kirill's Long-Awaited Visit to the Diocese of Tashkent and Uzbekistan

On 29 September 2017, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia began his Primatial visit to the Diocese of Tashkent and Uzbekistan. The visit was timed to the 145th anniversary of the founding of the diocese and the beginning of active church life in it.

At the Islam Karimov airport in the capital, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church was welcomed by Metropolitan Vikenty of Tashkent and Uzbekistan; V. L. Tyurdenev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Uzbekistan; R. T. Kamilov, State Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan; A. A. Yusupov, Chairman of the Committee for Religious Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan; S. P. Niyazkhodzhaev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan; and the clergy of the Diocese of Tashkent.

The delegation accompanying His Holiness during the visit to Uzbekistan included: Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate; Archbishop Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Administrative Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate; V. R. Legoyda, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media; and Priest Alexander Volkov, head of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Addressing the media at the airport, His Holiness said:

"It is with joy that I have set foot on the soil of Uzbekistan. In years past I came here many times, and not only to Tashkent. I keep very warm memories of my encounters with the Muslims of Uzbekistan, with ordinary people and with members of the intelligentsia, and so this new meeting will undoubtedly be an important event for me. I have already heard a great deal about the great changes taking place in your country recently, about how Tashkent has changed... I would very much like to see with my own eyes the achievements of your people and to touch the centuries-old history of Uzbekistan, which is a very important factor in shaping the national identity of your people.

I would also like to emphasize that in Uzbekistan the second religion after Islam by number of adherents is Orthodoxy. The flock of the Russian Orthodox Church includes not only Russians but also Belarusians, Ukrainians and others who profess Orthodoxy. I am glad that relations between Islam and the Orthodox Church here are just as good, and perhaps even more constructive today, than they were when I used to visit Uzbekistan. It seems to me that our peoples have a great deal in common: we lived in one country, we fought a common enemy, our fathers and grandfathers died defending what was then our common country from a terrible enemy, fascism.

Now we live in different countries, but very close ties remain. I recall from texts I once read how many Russians came to Uzbekistan to build up the economy and industry, to build roads and other important economic facilities. Today, a very large number of your citizens, citizens of Uzbekistan, work in Russia. The fact that such an exchange of people existed in the past and exists today is a good guarantee that relations between our peoples and our countries will always be good, because one cannot ignore what was right and good in history and what can now bear significant fruit.

I wish the Uzbek people prosperity, and I rejoice at the opportunity to meet with the President, with the Islamic leaders of Uzbekistan, to visit Orthodox churches, to celebrate divine services and to visit, besides Tashkent, such remarkable cities as Samarkand and Bukhara.

With warm and good feelings I begin my visit to blessed Uzbekistan. Once again, I greet you."

From the airport, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill proceeded to the Holy Trinity St. Nicholas Convent in Tashkent.