Patriarch PimenYour Holiness,
Thank you for your warm and generous hospitality.
I have been deeply moved by what I have seen and heard here today.
The past, the present and the future blend together here in Zagorsk in a spiritual [end p1] and national pride and self-confidence which befits a great people with great traditions.
I have heard—and I am delighted—that the numbers of students at this Seminary are rising; that your beautiful churches are not empty shells, speaking to us only of bygone ages. They are full of life, and centres of [end p2] varied communities of young people and families as well as the old.
I hope that this will continue: that the principle of freedom of religious belief and worship grow ever stronger here in the Soviet Union and throughout the world: and that more of those imprisoned for their faith will be freed. [end p3]
For a few short minutes I have paused to reflect with you. Beginning of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1800 29 March 1989:
I have lit my candle—one amongst so many—representing the hopes, the fears, the anxieties and the prayers of thousands of anonymous but important individuals. End of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1800 29 March 1987.
Tomorrow I shall lay a wreath beside the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, in [end p4] respect to the memory of much suffering, death and destruction in the fight against tyranny and oppression.
Today's small flame is for the future, in the hope that my visit to the Soviet Union will carry forward the cause of peace with freedom and justice. I pray it will.
Next year you celebrate your millenium. [end p5] Our churches in Britain look forward to rejoicing with you. I hope that it will be an occasion which strengthens the ties between our churches, and between the ordinary people who form their congregations. Beginning of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1800 29 March 1987:
I have seen and met members of your congregation here today and they've have told me of their wish that our [end p6] countries should live together in peace. I share this desire most earnestly. I should like to see our two peoples develop closer links of friendship and co-operation. End of section checked against BBC Radio News Report 1800 29 March 1987.
These are human values to which the church attaches great importance. They reflect the love, the truth and the tolerance which the founder of our [end p7] Christian faith taught us, but which over the centuries we have too often failed to observe.
In many countries we see clear signs of a renewed search for a spiritual quality, to complement the pace and technology of modern life. [end p8]
The vitality of your community here reflects this spiritual quality.
It is a joy that future generations will be able to share in the inspiration, the reassurance and the solace which your great church has provided over the centuries, in prosperity or adversity. Your enduring and courageous Christian witness is an inspiration far beyond the [end p9] bounds of your monastery and your Church.
I raise my glass in gratitude, in admiration, and in respect, to the future flowering in Russia of the qualities for which you stand.
To the Russian Orthodox Church.