Benedict XVI Greets Russia on His Birthday

The Holy Father's Greeting was televised on State Television. He honored the martyrs, "Orthodox, Catholics and other believers, who perished under the oppression of ferocious persecutions."

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany (Zenit) - Russia celebrated Benedict XVI's 81st birthday today with the first-ever televised greeting from a Pontiff to the Russian people.

The state television channel Vesti broadcast a documentary on the life of the Pope sponsored by the Germany-based organization Aid to the Church in Need. The program ended with a message from the Holy Father to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, Orthodox Christians, and to all Russians.

In his address, which was delivered in Italian and Russian, the Holy Father emphasized above all the necessity of dialogue among Christians, reported Aid to the Church in Need.

Benedict XVI said, "Russia is truly great, in a variety of different ways -- in her sheer geographical scale, in her long history, in her magnificent spirituality, in her multiplicity of artistic expression.

"During the past century the horizon of your noble land, like that of other regions on the European continent, was obscured by shadows of suffering and violence, shadows that were however opposed and overcome by the splendid light of so many martyrs -- Orthodox, Catholics and other believers, who perished under the oppression of ferocious persecutions.

"The love of Christ even unto martyrdom, which unites them, reminds us of the urgent need to restore unity among Christians, a duty to which the Catholic Church feels herself to be irrevocably committed. Both the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church are moving in this direction."

The Pontiff said that interreligious and intercultural dialogue is also a priority of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church. "Conscious of the spiritual gift of which they are the stewards and while firmly retaining their own proper identity, Christians are called to meet with the followers of other religions and to establish with them a fruitful dialogue in truth and charity."

Speaking in Russian, Benedict XVI said: "I am delighted to be able to address myself, in the Russian language, to the people and government of this great land of Russia, so dear to me. I extend my warmest greetings to our beloved Orthodox brothers and sisters, especially to his Holiness, the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and also to the Catholic bishops and their communities."

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Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, the Pontiff's brother, was among those interviewed for the documentary. Although the monsignor rarely gives interviews, he agreed to make an exception for the Russian film crew.

Peter Humeniuk, Aid to the Church in Need's expert on Russia and director of the project, said that both in Rome and in Moscow there is an awareness that the "film and the Papal message are a beautiful symbol of the process of rapprochement between the two Churches."

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The project was carried out in close collaboration with the Moscow Patriarchate -- and in particular with Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, the vice chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, who provided expert support for the project -- and likewise with the apostolic nuncio in Moscow, Archbishop Antonio Mennini.

The film was produced in Saint Petersburg by the interdenominational Christian media agency Blagovest Media, under the direction of Nikolaj Goryachkin in collaboration with the Germany-based Catholic Radio and Television Network (CRTN).

The Vatican television channel CTV provided extensive archive material for the project. Goryachkin paid particular tribute to the helpfulness and cooperation on the part of Father Federico Lombardi, the head of the Vatican press office.