Liturgy of the Word in honour of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, Wednesday, 25 August 2004
Delivery of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God address of H.Em. Cardinal Walter Kasper , Moscow, Cathedral of the Dormition, Saturday, 28 August 2004
Letter of Patriarch Aleksij II to the Holy Father John Paul II on the Occasion of the Return to Russia of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

Pictures: Farewell and delivery of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
Young people of our parish took part in the Religious procession of the glory of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, 4 November 2006

Liturgy of the Word in honour of the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, Wednesday, 25 August 2004

Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
1. Today, as I announced last Sunday, our traditional weekly meeting has a special profile. Indeed, here we are gathered in prayer around the venerable Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, which is on the point of setting out on the return journey to Russia, which it left one day long ago.
After passing through various countries and staying a long time at the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal, it providentially arrived at the Pope's dwelling more than 10 years ago. Since then, it has found a home with me and has accompanied my daily service to the Church with its motherly gaze.
How often since that day have I called on the Mother of God of Kazan, asking her to protect and guide the Russian people who venerate her, and to hasten the moment when all the disciples of her Son, recognizing one another as brothers and sisters, will be able to fully restore the compromised unity.

2. FROM the very first, I wanted this holy Icon to return to its own Land of Russia, where, according to reliable historical accounts, it was for a great many years the object of profound veneration on the part of entire generations of the faithful. It was around the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan that the history of that great people developed.
Russia is a Nation which has been Christian for many centuries; it is the Holy Rus'. Even when hostile forces furiously attacked the Church and endeavoured to cancel the holy Name of God from human lives, that people remained profoundly Christian, witnessing in many cases with blood to their fidelity to the Gospel and the values it inspires.
Therefore, deeply moved, I give thanks with you to divine Providence, which today has granted me to send this holy Icon as a gift to the venerable Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

3. MAY the ancient image of the Mother of the Lord tell His Holiness Alexei II and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Successor of Peter's affection for them and for all the faithful entrusted to their care. May it speak of his esteem for the great spiritual tradition of which the Holy Russian Church is custodian. May it speak of the desire and firm determination of the Pope of Rome to progress with them on the journey of reciprocal knowledge and reconciliation, to hasten the day of that full unity of believers for which the Lord Jesus ardently prayed (cf. Jn 17: 20-22).

DEAR brothers and sisters, join me in invoking the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as I entrust her Icon to the Delegation which, in my name, will be taking the Icon to Moscow.

Delivery of the Icon of the Kazan Mother of God address of H.Em. Cardinal Walter Kasper , Moscow, Cathedral of the Dormition, Saturday, 28 August 2004

Your Holiness,

I have the honour, on behalf of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and of the Delegation of the Holy See of Rome to which he has given this mandate, to greet you and with you, to greet the Metropolitans, Bishops, priests, monks and nuns present here, and the entire People of God of the Holy Russian Orthodox Church. The peace and grace of God be with you!

His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, has charged this Delegation on his behalf to present to you, Your Holiness, and through your Most Reverend Person, to the Russian Orthodox Church, this venerable and ancient Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, ardently venerated by entire generations of faithful of the Russian People.

The Icon, deeply rooted in the heart and history of this Country as the Protectress of Russia and of its people, left one day long ago and, winding her way through various Western countries, made a long stay at the Shrine of Fatima, Portugal, where she was venerated by many Catholic faithful.

Through a design of divine Providence, she arrived at last at the home of the Pope who has prayed before this sacred Image, asking the Mother of God of Kazan to protect the Russian People.

Thus, the Mother of God of Kazan, a venerated symbol of the 1,000-year old Christian tradition of the Russian People, and the help that she has lavished upon them in the most difficult situations of the long history of this People, thanks to her journey during which she was also venerated and invoked by many Catholic faithful, has gathered around her in prayer the two parts of Christianity and has also become the symbol of the deep unity in faith and love that exists between East and West, despite the deplorable misunderstandings and differences; she has preceded our commitments in order to recompose in fullness the unity of the Church of God, desired by our common Lord Jesus Christ.

Through this Icon, which is the focus of the veneration of countless members of the faithful, we Catholics express our high esteem for the great Russian Nation, for its rich Christian tradition, for the fidelity to the point of pouring out their blood of so many of the Russian faithful during the dark night of persecution and the oppression of a regime that was aiming to uproot the Christian faith and values from the heart of this people, which has remained profoundly Christian and faithful to the Gospel; through this Icon, we address our deep gratitude to God, to the One who has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly and humble (cf. Lk 1: 52), for the reawakening of Christian life in this Land.

Now that the glorious Mother of God of Kazan is returning to her Homeland and the Land of Russia, let us implore her to protect and guide her People towards a future that we hope will be peaceful and happy; let us beg her to intercede for the reciprocal respect and friendship between people of different cultures and religions, for peace in justice and freedom throughout the world; and let us entreat her to hasten the day when all the disciples of her Son will fully recognize themselves as brothers and sisters and will all be one, so that the world will believe (cf. Jn 17: 21); on the day when all Christians will sing in unison of the glory of the marvels, mercy and greatness of God.

I would like to end with the words that Pope John Paul II spoke at the Vatican last Wednesday, solemnly bidding farewell to this Icon: "May the ancient image of the Mother of the Lord tell His Holiness Alexei II and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Successor of Peter's affection for them and for all the faithful entrusted to their care. May it speak of his esteem for the great spiritual tradition of which the Holy Russian Church is custodian. May it speak of the desire and firm determination of the Pope of Rome to progress with them on the journey of reciprocal knowledge and reconciliation, to hasten the day of that full unity of believers for which the Lord Jesus ardently prayed (cf. Jn 17: 20-22)".

Your Holiness, I return the Icon of the Mother of God of Kazan to your hands. May the Most Holy Mother of God be the mother of her people and their refuge in all danger and need; may she be the mother of Europe and of all humanity; may she be the mother of peace in the world; the mother of the Church and of full unity between East and West; may she be our common mother, our advocate, our helper, and sustain us on our pilgrimage towards a future that we hope will be reconciled and peaceful. Holy Mary, intercede for us!

Letter Of Patriarch Aleksij II to the Holy Father John Paul II on the Occasion of the Return to Russia of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

Your Holiness,

I wholeheartedly thank you for having handed the Kazan Icon of our Most Holy Lady, the Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary over to the Russian Orthodox: Church. On August 28, 2004, the Feast of the most glorious Dormition or the Theotokos, the representative delegation of the Roman Catholic Church led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, presented us with this icon after a solemn divine service at the Cathedral of the Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin, which was overcrowded with the faithful who came on this sacred day to lift up their prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos.

The transfer of this holy icon brought over by your envoys is seen by the Plenitude of the Russian Orthodox Church as both an act of the restoration of justice and an act of good will on the part of Your Holiness. I believe that your decision to hand over the icon points to the sincere desire to overcome the difficulties existing in relations between cur two Churches. May this event become our common contribution to the overcoming of negative consequences of the 20th century history marked with persecution against the faith of Christ unprecedented in scale.

The veneration of the Mother of God as "the zealous intercessor far the Christian race" (Akathistos to the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God) - the veneration common to the Orthodox and Catholic Churches - brings us back to the times of the Early Church when there were no divisions between East and West so visible, regretfully, in our days. The Russian Orthodox: Church, always, even in the most difficult moments in her relations with the Roman Catholic Church, has invariably stated her willingness to develop these relations in the spirit of sincere cooperation. We see in the transfer of the Kazan Icon a step in the right direction in the belief that future everything that is possible will be done to settle certain problems standing between our Churches

Good relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, which "the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6) calls us to realize not in words but in deeds, are extremely important for the future of Europe and the whole world. The preaching of Christian values to the secularized society will be successful only if all Christians fulfil the Saviour's commandment of love: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn. 13:34). Openness in relations among Christians of various confessions presupposes respect for one another, knowledge of their common history and sensitivity in carrying out any actions in territories where other Christian tradition has existed far centuries.

Once again, I would like to thank Your Holiness from my heart for the gift and to express hope that the Most Holy Theotokos as "a swift and selfless healer of infirmities and divisions" (Akathistos to the Kazan Icon of the Theotokos) will send Her grace and mercy upon the faithful of our two Churches.

With love in the Lord,
Alexy
Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia