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Putin praises Russian Orthodox Church for promoting civil peace

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January 17, 2001 

MOSCOW-- (AP) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday awarded state medals to dozens of Russian Orthodox priests and praised clerics for helping to "return moral foundations to our nation."

"The understanding and constructive dialogue of the church and the state serve shared purposes: the creation of moral wealth and well-being of Russia," Putin was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

He said that Russia had "forever parted with ... a century of struggle against people's right to worship," and predicted that the new millennium would "become a time of historic and spiritual change for Russia," ITAR-Tass reported.

He expressed gratitude to the Russian Orthodox leader, Patriarch Alexy II, and praised the church's attempts "to consolidate civil peace and interdenominational accord, and the consistent position of the Church on many key international and internal political problems," the news agency said.

After decades of persecution under the atheist Communist state, the Orthodox Church has recovered much of the property that was confiscated by the Soviets and has resumed religious and social-welfare activities that had been strictly controlled or banned in Soviet times.

The patriarch and other Orthodox leaders have also played a prominent role at state functions, often flanking secular officials and offering blessings at government events. Putin is an Orthodox believer, and he has regularly attended holiday worship services.