The Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin met with Metropolitan
of Kazan and Tatarstan Kirill. The meeting was held at the Executive Committee
of the city. The Mayor expressed hope that Tatarstan and its capital will
become a home for the new head of the metropolis.
Ilsur Metshin greeted the metropolitan and emphasized
that the Tatarstan metropolis is headed by a wise man with great experience. “We
are grateful to His Grace for appointment such a wise man to our Orthodox
community. This is important for us, because we have been honoring interethnic
peace on our land for centuries. We have a peaceful neighborhood of
representatives of all nationalities. We believe that Tatarstan will become a
home for you”, – the Mayor addressed the metropolitan.
The head of
the city expressed hope that Metropolitan Kirill will continue the work of
Metropolitan Feofan with dignity. “Your predecessor, Metropolitan Feofan, made
a great contribution and coordinated work. Despite the fact that we are Muslims,
he taught us a lot, was a spiritually close person for us”, - Ilsur Metshin
said.
“We hope
that the Almighty will hear our prayers and protect us. We pray to God in
different languages, but we wish one thing, we are waiting for a big miracle,
so that the leap year will take away all the bad things and the next year will
be easier and happier”, the head of the city said.
In turn,
Metropolitan Kirill thanked for the support. “God willing, with your support
and the support of good people, everything that was done by my predecessor will
continue. We will strive towards this goal. Kazan and Tatarstan are
fascinating, the main thing is to be worthy to be here”, - Metropolitan Kirill
said.
For
information, there are 45 Orthodox churches in Kazan, 24 Sunday schools and 1
theological seminary of the Russian Orthodox Church. One of the most important
projects of the Kazan Diocese is the reconstruction of
the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God on the site of its
acquisition. In 2015, Tatarstan President signed a decree on the restoration of
the cathedral. The work is nearing completion.