ST. PETERSBURG, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church answered questions and talked about matrimony at a meeting with over 8,000 students and teachers from St. Petersburg and other cities.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia said that true love is always a sacrifice, and before marriage people should ask themselves what they are ready to do for those they love.
"This union [marriage] can contain both joy, sorrow, disease and incurable illness," he told the gathering in St. Petersburg's Ice Palace.
"What is love? Love is always connected with sacrifice. If someone is incapable of sacrificing their health, money, time, attention to someone else, it means they don't love. And if they find joy in sacrifice, it means they love," the patriarch said.
Patriarch Kirill cited Jesus Christ as a paragon of real, sacrificial love for people, and added that the love of a mother for her child is also a very vivid example of this feeling.
Kirill is seen as a liberal in the traditionalist Russian Orthodox Church. He was enthroned as the patriarch of Moscow and all Russia on February 1, replacing Alexy II, who died in December at the age of 79. Alexy led a revival of faith in Russia following the collapse of the officially atheist Soviet Union.
Patriarch Kirill has urged priests to reach out to society, especially to young people.
Speaking earlier this year during a visit to the Tula Region, south of Moscow, Patriarch Kirill said that if a priest merely "rings the bells, sits and waits for believers to arrive" then the Church will not meet people's demands, which he said included improving the moral climate in society, as well as reducing the number of divorces, abortions and crimes.
"The Lord said: 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.' He did not say: 'Sit there and wait until people arrive,'" he said. "I think today the main object of our efforts should be schools, education and youth."
The patriarch also said then that it was necessary to learn how to talk to young people properly.
