October 29, 2015
Son of legendary American evangelist Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, head of the Samaritan’s Purse charity organization, is in Moscow this week and has met with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.
According to Interfax-Religion, during the meeting with His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill spoke of the ever-declining moral values in western societies, noting that they have become secondary in such societies, made up as they are of migrants of various religions.
"Radical changes in spiritual life have occurred in the West in the past few years. Western countries have stopped identifying themselves with the Christian tradition. On the basis of the fact that not only Christians now live in the West, they have gone to the idea of society in which Christian moral values should not dominate," the patriarch noted.
Expressing concern over laws that equate gay marriage with that ordained and blessed by the Lord, he stated:
"People who disagree with these laws are even subjected to repression. And the Christians who defend the eternal significance of Christian moral values are subjected to all kinds of pressure, primarily information.”
On the meeting, Graham wrote on his Facebook page:
This week I am in Moscow, and it was a great privilege to meet with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church today. We discussed the persecution of the church worldwide, especially in countries like Syria, and the need to protect Christians. We discussed the refugee crisis and how the church can help these people who are fleeing for their lives. And we talked about the need to reach a younger generation brought up in secular schools surrounded by a secular culture who know nothing of God and His love for them. I appreciate Patriarch Kirill’s very clear moral voice on issues of marriage, family, and the sanctity of life.
On Graham’s meeting with Metropolitan Hilarion at the rectory of the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” parish, the DECR Communication Service reports that they amicably discussed the possibility of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on issues such as defense of traditional morality and humanitarian aid.
His Eminence also previously met with Billy Graham during a visit to America.
