Public Remarks
Remarks at the Celebration of St. Catherine the Martyr.
William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia
St. Catherine’s Church, Moscow, Russia, December 07, 2007
It is a great honor for me to join with you again this year to celebrate the feast day in honor of St. Catherine, the patron saint of this beautiful church. St. Catherine inspires us by her example of integrity and strength, and also by her remarkable powers of persuasion, all of which are important for us who serve as diplomats and for those who lead the church.
This year we are celebrating 200 years of official relations between the United States and Russia, and the Orthodox Church has been a steadfast beacon of faith and community between our countries throughout the past two centuries. In fact, as you may know, the history of the Orthodox Church in America is even older than political relations between our countries, dating back to the time of Russian settlements in North America, when Russian explorers were followed by missionaries from the Orthodox Church across the Bering Strait to Alaska. In 1794, the Russian Orthodox Church established its first mission in Alaska by the order of Catherine the Great, and has maintained a role in North America since that time.
On behalf of the American community in Moscow, I would like to pay tribute to the church, which has done so much to support us and to strengthen the bonds between the American and Russian people. I would like to express special appreciation for the work of Father Zacchaeus, who has been a pillar of the American community in Moscow, both in times of joy and in times of sorrow.
Again, I congratulate the faithful parishioners of St. Catherine's Church on the Feast Day of St. Catherine and wish the church and her leaders continued success and blessings.