Russian Patriarch pledges to continue Church reforms

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has said he will continue to pursue reforms within the Russian Orthodox Church. "The administrative reforms launched are not a goal in itself. They must become the backbone of further reforms in the [Russian Orthodox] Church," the Russian Patriarch told Archbishops at a conference in Moscow Christ the Savior Cathedral on Tuesday.

Importantly, the current reform "is a result of live discussions, and of a collective, to be more exact, concerted work," he said.

The Moscow Patriarchate's Executive Department was "radically reorganized," responsibilities of the External Church Relations Department were "specified," new synodal services were formed and a theologian postgraduate department was set up, Patriarch Kirill said.

"A positive conclusion of a long-lasting dialogue between Russia's traditional religions and the government on teaching the essentials of religious culture at general schools and on the introduction of military clergy" was one of the most remarkable events of the past year, he said.

Source: Interfax religion