The publication of the book of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia "Thoughts for every Day of the Year" in Chinese was presented on September 30, 2021 at the Chinese Patriarchal Compound in Moscow, reports TASS edition.
The book was presented by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations. "This book is made up of various interviews, sermons and conversations of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, which he has worn out in different years, which are devoted to a variety of topics. This book was prepared by the church-wide postgraduate and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius together with St. Vladimir's Theological Seminary in New York. And it was published first in Russian and English, and then it was translated into other languages, and now it was the turn of the Chinese language," the metropolitan explained.
He added that the book consists of 366 chapters, "which can be read every day." In them you can get acquainted "with the patriarch's arguments about the problems of modern society and the relationship of freedom and responsibility, the balance between the universal and the rational."
Russian Russian Patriarch Kirill, as chairman of the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, has repeatedly spoken about the Chinese direction as particularly important for the activities of the Russian Church, paying special attention to the development of Orthodoxy in China. Currently, the patriarch also pays constant attention to China, in 2013 he was on a visit to this country and served in the temples of Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai, His Eminence recalled.
Also, for Chinese citizens in Moscow, with the blessing of the patriarch, a Chinese patriarchal compound was established 10 years ago.
"The peculiarities of the Orthodox mission in China at the present time are that this mission is carried out in a very limited framework. This reminds us of what happened in our country 40 years ago, when the church existed, had a legal right to exist, but its educational and missionary activities were very limited. <...> And there are a lot of Chinese here in Russia, and nothing prevents us from enlightening them with the light of Christ's faith," the metropolitan noted.
Also, several Orthodox theological publications in Chinese were presented at the compound, including the Catechism: A Short Guide to the Orthodox Faith by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, a short illustrated Russian-Chinese dictionary of Orthodox vocabulary, Asceticism for the Laity by Priest Pavel Gumerov and others.
The books were published with the assistance of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage.