Chairman of the Committee met with the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Kazakhstan Tomasz Peta, the ruling bishop of the Peter and Bulayev diocese Bishop Vladimir

Chairman of the Committee met with the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Kazakhstan Tomasz Peta, the ruling bishop of the Peter and Bulayev diocese Bishop Vladimir

On April 18, 2018, the Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee  of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan Y. Ongarbayev met with the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Kazakhstan, Tomasz Peta, the ruling bishop of the Peter and Bulayev diocese Bishop Vladimir, and other representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

The main issue of the meeting was the discussion of the upcoming ecumenical pilgrimage to the holy places of Poland from April 19 to 30 this year. Representatives of religious associations spoke about the pilgrimage, within the framework of which it is planned to visit the Catholic and Orthodox sacred places of Poland and hold a number of meetings with their spiritual leaders.

During the conversation, it was noted that this event is, in essence, a historical event, since for the first time since independence of Kazakhstan, two branches of Christianity decided to hold a joint event of this kind.

According to Archbishop Tomasz Peta and Bishop Vladimir, this trip is in line with the Rukhani Zhagyru program, in which one of the main messages was the focus on the revival of the spiritual values ​​of Kazakhstan people, taking into account all modern risks and challenges of globalization, the unity of the people of Kazakhstan and familiarization of the world community with Kazakh culture and achievements of the country in the field of interfaith and interethnic peace and harmony.

Chairman Y. Ongarbayev noted that the Orthodox Church of Kazakhstan and the Roman Catholic Church make a significant contribution to maintaining peace and harmony, stability and tranquility in the country. They function as reliable partners of the state in solving the most important social and educational tasks. They fully realize their huge creative potential, affirming high moral values.

He also drew attention to the fact that the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Civil Society of the Republic of Kazakhstan is building partnerships with religious associations of the country, including the Catholic and Orthodox churches. With the assistance of the Ministry, the issue of repairing the road to the Catholic Church of Mother of God - Queen of the World, where the unique shrine - Altar "Star of Kazakhstan" in the North Kazakhstan region is located, was resolved. Charity fund "Uakyp" also allocated funds for restoration of the burnt Orthodox church in the name of the Archangel God Michael, located in the Almaty region.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their intentions for further fruitful cooperation, promoting the principles of interfaith harmony and mutual respect.