WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th May, 2022) Restoring the Eucharistic communion between the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the Moscow Patriarchate has brought unity to the entire Russian church, the late ROCOR First Hierarch Metropolitan Hilarion (Kapral) told Sputnik in one of his last interviews.
Hilarion passed away at 2:00 p.m. EST (6:00 p.m. GMT) on Monday, St. John the Baptist cathedral rector Victor Potapov announced in an email to the parish.
On May 17, 2007, then-Patriarch of Moscow and All-Russia Alexey II and ROCOR First-Hierarch Metropolitan Laurus signed the Act of Canonical Communion of ROCOR with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The accord allowed uniting the two parts of the church that had been separated for several decades.
"Reconciliation was the right decision because of the decades-long separation between the Russian immigration abroad and the Orthodox people in Russia. It is a great achievement because it brought unity to the Russian Orthodox Church," Hilarion said.
The hierarch emphasized the significant efforts Patriarch Alexey II and Metropolitan Laurus made to allow the bishops to come to a resolution and reconcile as one Russian Orthodox Church.
Hilarion also said he regretted that some of the ROCOR clergy and flock did not accept reconciliation and left the church, but added that most agreed with the decision to reconcile.
On May 17, 2007, the two church leaders served the first joint Divine Liturgy at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. Asked to recall his personal impressions, Hilarion said he felt deeply the historical importance of the event.
"Finally, we managed to reach an understanding between the two parts of the Russian Orthodox Church and we have the opportunity to become one, to communicate with each other," he said.
Hilarion became the First Hierarch in 2008 when Metropolitan Laurus passed away so almost all of the process of reconciliation took place during his service.
"This is 15 years of joy. We were happy that we achieved unity, and in the time that has passed since then, I have never regretted it. Even when there were some problems, I knew that then we did everything right," he said.
ROCOR was founded in 1920-1921 by emigres who left Russia after the country's civil war. Since 2007, ROCOR was united with the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and currently has more than 400 parishes and 20 monasteries in 30 countries, mostly in the United States.
