Russian honours for Dr Williams: The Church of England Newspaper, March 19, 2010 p 7. March 31, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England Newspaper, Russian Orthodox.trackback
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been honoured by Moscow for his services to British-Russian friendship.
On March 11, the Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Yuri Fedotov, presented Dr. Rowan Williams with the Russian Order of Friendship. The citation for the award issued by decree of President Dmitri Medvedev recognised Dr. Williams’ “outstanding contribution to the cooperation and friendly relations between Russia and the UK.”
“What the Archbishop is doing helps tremendously to establish better understanding and to set a better climate in relations between Russia and the UK,” Ambassador Fedotov said.
Dr. Williams was also presented with a bilingual edition of his poetry, printed in Moscow by the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature to commemorate the occasion.
The award was a “very special personal honour,” Dr. Williams said, and it was “an immense personal privilege to be recognised in this way so unexpectedly.” Russian religious philosophy had been one of his lifelong interests, he said, added noting that “the depths and challenges of the Russian world have continued to play a crucial part in my own life, in my mind and in my heart.”
Russia’s Interfax News Agency reported that Dr. Williams said he had been “keen on Russian culture, its philosophy and religious thought from my very young age. Great Britain and Russia are situated in opposite parts of Europe, Anglo-Saxon temper is almost contrary to Russian, but Christian faith unites us.”
“Studying Russian culture, I hear my culture echoing. However, for me personally, it’s easier to feel Russian mentality as I’m not an Anglo-Saxon, I’m a Welshman,” Dr. Williams told the BBC’s Russian service, Interfax reported.
