I heartily welcome all participants to this plenary session of the “Christian Inter-Confessional Advisory Committee of the CIS-Countries and Baltics”. This session is devoted to the topic of: “The Christian Family – a ‘Small Church’ and the Foundation of a Healthy Society”. The churches in the various countries forming this committee indeed have similar views regarding the tasks facing the global Christian community and share the conviction that the Gospel teaching is not of a passing nature.

We, representatives of the Christian churches of the CIS-countries and Baltics – Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, who have gathered in Moscow, consider it imperative to raise our voices in defence of the traditional norms of Christian morality.

he churches of the CIS countries and Baltics, gathered in Moscow on 2 February 2010, studied carefully the topic entitled: “The Christian Family – a ‘Small Church’ and the Foundation of a Healthy Society” and now report on their joint views regarding family relations. Our view on the role of the family emanates from the Holy Scriptures as the highest authority on moral values and is likewise based on the centuries-old experience of church care for the family.

On 12 January 2010 Metropolitain Hilarion of Volokolamsk answered the questions of representatives of about 30 Russian and international mass-media.

On 4 February 2010, a multi-confessional rally championing the values of the Christian family is scheduled to take place in Moscow. That was the primary result of a meeting of nearly 20 church leaders at headquarters of the Russian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchy in Moscow on 15 October

CIAC Secretariat meeting was held on 15 Ocotber 2009 at the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.