At the meeting, the sides discussed issues of role and place of Orthodoxy and other religions in our city, situation regarding freedom of worship in St. Petersburg and Vietnam as well as joint plans in the run-up to the Cross Year of Russia and Vietnam in 2019.
As noted by Vice Governor N.L. Bondarenko, despite the fact that Orthodox Christianity is the basic and most common religion of Russia and St. Petersburg, in particular, comfortable conditions are created in our country for members of all denominations which don’t involve adverse message or cause interdenominational tension.
N.L. Bondarenko also reported on the work of translation Orthodox literature into foreign languages including Vietnamese that is conducted in St. Petersburg.
“That said, aspiration to provide an opportunity for better understanding of the keystone and origin of our society was, is and will be the primary goal for promoting knowledge about Orthodox culture”, Vice Governor emphasized.
The members of the Vietnamese delegation stressed in their turn that Russia and Vietnam have a lot in common in attitudes towards religion. Primarily, it is the fact that freedom of conscience and worship is formalized in legislations of both countries and observance of these requirements is closely monitored by government authorities acting as arbiters in interdenominational discussions.
Head of the delegation Comr. Vũ Chiến Thắng also spoke of a new religion act that came into force in Vietnam this year and in particular elaborated on methods to prevent penetration of destructive sects into society described in the Act. He also observed that, in his opinion, Russian practice in these matters is the most appropriate and civilized.