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Raul Castro Attends Dedication of Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Havana
Cuban President Raul Castro attended on Sunday the opening of a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Havana as part of a series of activities to celebrate Russian culture in the Caribbean country.
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Cuban President Raul Castro attended on Sunday the opening of a Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Havana as part of a series of activities to celebrate Russian culture in the Caribbean country.
During the ceremony, Metropolitan Kiril, a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, greeted Raul and thanked the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, for his consent to build the temple, the first of its type in Latin America.
Kiril recalled that, four years ago, Fidel Castro predicted that the Cathedral would be a monument to past and future.
He stressed that there is no other Orthodox Cathedral around the world built thanks to the willingness and efforts of the authorities and the people of an entire nation.
His Eminence Kiril also delivered a message of gratitude from Patriarch Alexei II and presented decorations to Havana Historian Eusebio Leal and to Caridad Diego, head of the Office for Religious Affairs at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC).
Also present in the ceremony were Cuban VP Esteban Lazo; the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon; and Juan Contino, Mayor of the City of Havana.
On Sunday evening, Raul Castro also attended a concert by Moscow’s Sretenskiy Monastery Choir at the Minor Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, located in Old Havana.
During the ceremony, Metropolitan Kiril, a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, greeted Raul and thanked the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, for his consent to build the temple, the first of its type in Latin America.
Kiril recalled that, four years ago, Fidel Castro predicted that the Cathedral would be a monument to past and future.
He stressed that there is no other Orthodox Cathedral around the world built thanks to the willingness and efforts of the authorities and the people of an entire nation.
His Eminence Kiril also delivered a message of gratitude from Patriarch Alexei II and presented decorations to Havana Historian Eusebio Leal and to Caridad Diego, head of the Office for Religious Affairs at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC).
Also present in the ceremony were Cuban VP Esteban Lazo; the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon; and Juan Contino, Mayor of the City of Havana.
On Sunday evening, Raul Castro also attended a concert by Moscow’s Sretenskiy Monastery Choir at the Minor Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, located in Old Havana.