Metropolitan Hilarion, head of external relations, appreciates the support offered by other Christian communities: willingness to offer churches and assistance to the Orthodox abroad important. But if Uniates fail to renounce expansion, ecumenical dialogue will not be fruitful.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk has thanked Catholics and Christians of other denominations for their support offered to the Orthodox abroad.

In an interview published Oct. 6 on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Metropolitan explains how many of the new Orthodox communities outside the Russian Federation use buildings and churches "provided" by other Christian communities. First among them Catholics. "When Catholics give Orthodox a chance to pray in their churches and most importantly for free, what can it mean?" asked Hilarion.

He also points out the number of Catholics and Protestants who have become orthodox by joining the foreign communities, especially given the rise of mixed marriages.

The Orthodox representative goes on to explain how difficult it is “ to obtain permission from the authorities to build a church in Western Europe" and the importance of the assistance provided to the new dioceses “by the Catholic Bishops and even the Protestant community. " Similarly, he continues, the Protestant and Catholic organizations at the request of the Russian Orthodox diocese are called on to help "our illegal immigrants to obtain proper documents and a job."

Even with the new Patriarch Kirill, who succeeded two years ago to Alexy II, Russian Orthodox relations with both the Catholic and Protestant Church remain tense. Although signs of détente are becoming more frequent. Hilarion himself in the interview, does not avoid the subject, instead he declares: "Only the decided refusal of the Greek Catholics not to expand (in Ukraine), will help fix the issues that complicate relations between Catholics and Orthodox today." (NA)