After consecration of the dome crosses of the constructed Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Simferopol, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia answered the journalists’ questions.
— Traditional question: what is the purpose of Your visit?
— For the firs time in the history the Patriarch has come to Crimea - I think that says it all. The Patriarch is a pastor of his people, and I came to pray with people, to give them my archpastoral blessing, hear their voices, and share with them their sorrows and joys.
—Have You been to Crimea before and when, if so?
— I have been to the Crimea in my youth – I liked to spend my holidays here. For the last time I came here to one of the conferences held at the beginning of 2000 and even spoke at your parliament.
— What did You tell about in the parliament?
— I made a report relating to the subject of the conference “Russia and Ukraine”.
— Your Holiness, please tell, what place does the Crimea occupy in Your heart? Is it true that your book “Word of Pastor” in published in Ukrainian?
— Yes, it is true, my book Word of Pastor’ was translated also into Ukrainian
The Crimea occupies a very large space in my heart, and I think it should occupy a very large place in the heart of every orthodox person, living in these vast territories, belonging to historical Rus, which came out of the baptismal font of Kyiv. It is from the Crimea that the enlightenment began.
My heavenly patron, the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril came here, to the ancient Tavrida, on his first missionary trip. Here, in Chersonese he started preaching the Word of God. And this sermon was successful - as a result the Kyivan prince Askold got baptized. It was 120 before the baptism of Rus. It means that the first steps of the orthodox faith in our land were made here, in Crimea.
I think only this fact turns the Crimea into the spiritual for our nation, and it is important for the people to understand that it is not only the place for the summer beach rest, not a place of pleasant pastime, but the place of pilgrimage, and God grant that the pilgrimage to Crimea, to the origins of our Orthodoxy, increases alongside with the revival of faith among our people.
— Your Holiness, they say You are going to Odessa next year. Is that true and what places You would like to call to?
— I very much dislike making a long shot, but I always say the following: if the Lord blesses, I’d like to visit Odessa too, where the magnificent cathedral is built, where the orthodox people live, who heartily invite me to visit this city.
Thank you. May God bless all of you, my dear.
