On 7 January 2004, the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, visited the St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Vienna. He was greeted at the cathedral's entrance by Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, Representative of the Russian Orthodox Church to the European Institutions. The Cardinal then proceeded to the church, where he attended the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Bishop Hilarion together with Archpriest Vladimir Tyshchuk, Archpriest Chrysostom Pijnenburg, priest Radoslav Ristic and deacon Kirill Tatarka. Before the beginning of the Eucharistic canon Cardinal Schönborn and Bishop Hilarion exchanged the kiss of peace.
On behalf of himself and the parishioners of the St Nicholas Cathedral, Bishop Hilarion gave a welcoming address in German to Cardinal Schönborn after the Divine Liturgy. Speaking of the cathedral and its faithful, he mentioned: “Built at the end of the 19th century, this church to this day remains one of Vienna's architectural landmarks. Although it is located on the territory of the Russian embassy, its flock is comprised not only of Russians, but also of Ukrainians, Belorussians, Moldavians, Georgians, Austrians and those of other nationalities. This is mainly due to the multinational character of the Russian Orthodox Church itself, which unites more than 100 million Orthodox Christians residing in various countries and speaking various languages”.
Continuing his welcoming address, Bishop Hilarion spoke of the significance of the Feast of the Nativity for Orthodox Christians and reminded those present of the duty of Christians of different confessions to strive to overcome existing divisions and create an atmosphere of mutual trust. Addressing Cardinal Schönborn, he added that “the Austrian model of inter-Christian cooperation can serve as a model for many other regions of the world, where the level of mutual understanding between Orthodox and Catholics is much lower. A significant contribution to the creation of this model was made by your predecessor Cardinal Franz Koenig, whose work Your Eminence worthily continues. While being one of the leading hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church, you also have a deep love of Orthodoxy, revealed not only in your church activities, but also in your theological works dedicated to the tradition of the Eastern Church, which are well-known in Orthodox circles”.
Concluding his welcoming address, Bishop Hilarion congratulated his guest on the Feast and expressed his wish that the almighty God strengthen him in his service to the Catholic Church and to Christian unity.
Cardinal Schönborn then addressed Bishop Hilarion and his flock: “I am very thankful that I was given the opportunity to celebrate the great Feast of the Nativity with you in this very beautiful and dear cathedral. I came to this cathedral for the first time in 1968 as a student, when Bishop Melchisedek was Bishop of Vienna and Austria. With great thanksgiving I remember the visit of His Holiness Patriarch Aleksy to this cathedral in 1997, when I was also invited as a guest. In the same year I had the joy of getting to know you, Vladyka, in Moscow, during my visit to Moscow and Saint-Petersburg as a guest of His Holiness. Back then I could not know that we would some day have the pleasure of you coming to us as the Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church for Vienna and Austria”.
Later in his speech Cardinal Schönborn stressed that the Nativity of Christ reveals to us the humility of God, who became a vulnerable, weak infant for the salvation of mankind. He reminded those present of the words of St Maximus the Confessor: “Nothing can move the human heart more than the mercy and humility of God”.
He also added that “the division between our Churches is often the result of our human sins. And that is why, when we pray together at the manger in Bethlehem, we can only ask God to forgive our sins, that we may once again learn to show mercy to each other and between our Churches, that truth and love may embrace each other, as is said in the psalms. And with this in mind, Vladyka, I am happy that today we were able to give each other the greeting of peace. May this be a sign of hope”.
At the end of his speech Cardinal Schönborn gave his heartfelt Christmas greetings to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy of Moscow and all Russia, wishing Bishop Hilarion many years of service as the ruling bishop of the diocese of Vienna and Austria and a blessed and happy Christmas to his flock.
After the service lunch was served in the cathedral's dining hall, where the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna had the possibility of speaking with the clergy and parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church's diocese of Vienna and Austria.