Sochi, February 5, Interfax – Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia said he admired the organization of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
“What I have seen has exceeded all of my expectations,” the patriarch said on Wednesday when touring coastal cluster facilities of the Olympic park in Sochi.
Patriarch Kirill said he had been to Krasnaya Polyana since 1971. “I was [there] last in 2012, when some preparatory work had already been started. But what happened in these two years is hard to imagine. It is just impossible to imagine,” he said.
Holding the Olympics in Russia should spiritualize the competition, the patriarch said.
“And for this it is necessary that it is held at a very high technical level amid a very high level of people’s solidarity, with good results and should be done peacefully. And may God give that existing military confrontations stop during this time,” he said.
Patriarch Kirill has met with volunteers and said that a lot depended on their work, including foreigners’ impression of Russia.
“For many this will be their first acquaintance with Russia and it is important that people not only see the wonderful buildings constructed and great roads but also feel the soul of our people, our hospitality, our readiness to help and be united with others,” the patriarch said.
Source: Interfax-Religion