EUROPE/RUSSIA - Christians united in Hope

Moscow (Agenzia Fides) - Spe Salvi, the most recent encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, has now been made available in Russia, as well. Its publication in Russian (by Franciscan Press, in collaboration with the Apostolic Nunciature and the Catholic press agency, Agnuz) represents, among other possibilities, an occasion for encounter and dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. It was presented on Tuesday, March 25, at the cultural center “Library of the Spirit,” in Moscow, by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi and Father Vladimir Shmalij, Secretary for the Synodal Theological Commission of the Patriarch and Vice-Rector of the Theological Academy of Sergiev Posad.
The writings of the present Pontiff have already created occasions for dialogue. In 2006, when the Library of the Spirit published an “Introduction to Christianity” by Joseph Ratzinger, Metropolitan Kirill wrote the introduction. Now another important figure in Russian Orthodoxy, Father Shmalij, has agreed to present the encyclical, “Spe Salvi,” that dedicates a great deal of text to the denouncing of ideologies and their false hopes, a story all-too-familiar to Russia.
The Library of the Spirit was opened in Moscow in 1993 by the foundation “Christian Russia,” in collaboration with the Orthodox Center of Saints Cyril and Methodius of Minsk and the diocesan Caritas of Moscow. Catholics and Orthodox work together to promote (through meetings, exhibits, and publications) occasions for ecumenical dialogue and encounter. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 26/3/2008; righe 20, parole 224)