Patriarch Kirill – honorary doctor of KRSU
As part of his visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' visited the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University (KRSU) named after B.N. Yeltsin.
Rector of KRSU, academician V.I. Nifadiev read out the decision of the Academic Council of KRSU to confer the title of Honorary Doctor and presented the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church with a robe, cap and diploma. The Bishop, in turn, presented the university with a collection of his works and an icon of St. Nicholas.
«We believe that children should know about religion and its role in society», – said the Minister of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic G.K. Kudaiberdieva before the award ceremonies. At the same time, she emphasized that education in Kyrgyzstan is secular in nature. The minister also said that the translation of the Patriarch's book «Freedom and Responsibility» into the Kyrgyz language – is an important event in the cultural life of the republic.
«Freedom is ontologically present in human nature. Without freedom there is no person. And any restriction of human freedom brings a person a feeling of dissatisfaction, or even grief. God has put into human nature the desire for freedom. But he also put a sense of conscience into it. It is known that all laws of jurisprudence are secondary to the concept of morality», – said the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Patriarch Kirill arrived in Kyrgyzstan on a primate visit on May 27. As part of this visit, he consecrated the Resurrection Cathedral of Bishkek and a stone at the construction site of the Orthodox gymnasium at the Cathedral of St. Prince Vladimir, and also met with the President of the Kyrgyz Republic A. Atambayev, Prime Minister S. Jeenbekov and Mufti of the Republic M. Toktomushev.
According to His Holiness, in the Kyrgyz Republic there is no discrimination against minorities on religious grounds and «Orthodox people do not feel like second-class citizens here». «We know that religious conflicts are indeed raging in the world, national unity is being destroyed. Therefore, we must certainly value everything that exists in Kyrgyzstan», ― emphasized the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
«You do a lot to ensure that no one can use religion for evil purposes. Therefore, I would like to express my gratitude to you and say that the Orthodox are ready to work so that peace is maintained on the land of Kyrgyzstan and so that no one can push our two communities together», – concluded the Patriarch.
