Speech of Philaret, Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of all Belarus

Dear Nurtay Abykayevich! Let me greet in your person the governing body of the Republic of Kazakhstan and thank you for an invitation and for the opportunity to read out the greetings of the Patriarch Moscovsky and of all-Russia Alexy addressed to this meeting.

"For Participants of the II Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions!

I warmly greet the outstanding religious leaders, state, and public figures gathered on the blessed land of Kazakhstan to participate in the II Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

Modern world processes, which are oriented to political and economic interests, often doubt spiritual and moral values, century-old traditions of different nations. To these blessings some people respond by extreme bitterness, which sometimes is sincere and sometimes it conceals thirst of power and glory. Both the attempt to deprive nations of its originality and the radical reaction to such attempt may give rise to new conflicts. In connection with this, the world faces new challenges of extremism and terrorism. What kind of answer believers of different religions may give to this threatening reality?

I believe that we should return to people the highest meaning of life, give them an opportunity to find the strong spiritual and moral basis for friendship, love and creation of good deeds.

It is necessary to accentuate that when the program of non-religious society collapses, the ideas on creating universal religion, which would bring all religions together, appear. I believe that the attempt of mixing faiths and making different critical experiments cannot be profitable for inter-religious dialogue. Only through respect to integrity of doctrines and traditions of each other it is possible to unite us for service to the good of people and for solving the world up-to-date problems.

The Russian Orthodox Church is always open to a dialogue with friendly traditional religious communities. Only by joint efforts we can establish such a peaceful world based on brotherly coexistence of all people. But it is impossible to achieve it without approval of moral norms, where the religious tradition is its treasure. It is impossible to create really good deed without faith. It is impossible to forgive and love your neighbors without God's help and this gives the strongest basis to reconciliation. That is why, I am convinced in the necessity to expand the room of religion in the educational process and in the work of mass media. Only through upbringing and education it is possible to build the strong moral base in souls of people.

In CIS countries there is a unique experience of peaceful joint life of believers of different religions. We share this experience with others during the international and inter-religious dialogue and cooperation.

Recently, in July of this year, the World Summit of Religious Leaders was held in Moscow. It is pleasing to state that only Kazakhstan becomes one of the centers of inter-religious dialogue in CIS countries and all over the world. Holding of world and traditional religions congresses provides not only cooperation development of religious communities, but also it obtains significant political and international importance.

I am sure that the Congress will manage to make ponderable contribution in searching an answer to more problematic questions. In its turn it will give a new impulse to creation of peaceful and fair social way of life.

I would like to cite the words of the Sacred Apostle Paul to all of you: "Making good, let us not loose heart, because we will reap in due time if it does not weaken".

I express my appreciation to Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for supporting the inter-religious dialogue, for the basic adherence to world ideals and cooperation, which believers of different religions share. I wish the participants of the Congress to have productive work and blessed success in any good deeds!"

I thank you for the opportunity to send greetings of the most Holy Patriarch, and for the opportunity to be present at this Congress of the delegation of Russian Orthodox Church, which includes Lord Mefody, the Local Metropolitan, two clerics of our church and the Layman (they are officials of the Department of foreign church relations).

Our impressions about this meeting of religious leaders are the most favorable. This is my first visit to Kazakhstan and I am amazed with progresses of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which have been achieved during the new capital construction.

Let God help your President and all hardworking people of Kazakhstan in this construction. I think that all of us agree with the idea to meet on this land in three years again.