Russia’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Lavrov, this week praised the contribution of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department of External Church Relations in promoting and advancing inter-cultural and inter-faith dialogue around the world – on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church’s specific department.
Still in the vast country, the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, His Eminence Hilarion, who is the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations, this week reiterated the Church’s positions regarding the rights of unborn children, speaking during a television appearance.
Among others, His Eminence stated that “…this discussion begins from the fact that we acknowledge the same rights to the human fetus that we acknowledge to an individual that has been born… We insist on the view that human rights must include fetuses. Therefore, we consider any biological material taken from embryos as unacceptable.”
