"The Moscow talks were a success. They opened the way to a process which, I hope, will bring a long-awaited reunion of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Russian Orthodox Church in its Motherland," the hierarch said to a news conference in Moscow.
The negotiators agreed on approaches to consideration of essential issues. The visit came as a landmark event. The delegates bowed to Russian shrines, joined the Russian Orthodox Church in common prayer, and had frank opinion exchanges with their hosts. All that promoted the negotiations, gave them spiritual encouragement, and helped to put an end to the last remnants of a long cold spell between the two Churches.
A current rapprochement of the two Russian Churches is of tremendous importance to all Eastern Christians, whether in or outside Russia-it helps to "heal the wounds the community suffered in the [Bolshevik] Revolution and the Civil War", stressed Metropolitan Cyril.
"The Church is more subject to inertia than any other social sphere, such as politics or economic affairs. That is what makes overcoming an ecclesiastical split a formidable toil," he explained.
Russian Church unity demands eucharistic communion, a unified canonical territory, close cooperation, and autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad as part of a reunited Russian Orthodox Church.
"Administrative reforms are outside our top priorities. No administrative enlargements or reductions are coming up in the near future," reassured the Metropolitan.
Archbishop Mark of Berlin and Germany, Russian Orthodox Church Abroad commission head for negotiations with the Moscow Patriarchate, firmly believes that the Russian Church will reunite, he said while addressing the conference, in his turn.
"Church unity is the ultimate goal of our negotiations-a result we are in duty bound to achieve. The ecclesiastical Statute obliges us to work for it.
"The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad has always regarded itself as an inalienable part of the Russian Church.
"Though I expect our rapprochement to proceed apace, it will be irresponsible to specify whatever deadlines just now.
"When we see our mutual disposition strong enough to go over to a final stage of reunion, we shall achieve that reunion," he reassured.
