January 3, 2012
Washington, DC:
Archpriest Victor Potapov was Awarded a Certificate by Russia’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Advancing Russian Culture Abroad
On
Friday, December 30, in the Russian Federation Embassy in
Washington, DC, Archpriest Victor Potapov was awarded a special
certificate from the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs for his active cultural work. Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s
Ambassador to the United States, opened the ceremony with the
following words:
"I am very glad and proud to have the opportunity to greet you all
at this little ceremony awarding Fr. Victor the honorary Certificate
from the Government Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad. This
award is a sign of recognition by Russia of those compatriots who do
much for the advancement of the Russian language, for the bringing
together of peoples, for helping those who have, owing to the whims
of fate, found themselves abroad avoid losing their cultural and
social connection with their homeland. Few men work so hard to make
sure that their nation’s culture and their people’s language
remained within the traditions, within the very blood of their
compatriots, who have been destined to live outside of Russia. Few
are the men like Fr. Victor, who over the course of his life has
done, does and, I am sure, will again do so much.
"This is a man of high moral character; a man who proudly and
intently bears the Russian spirit; a man who, in his time, created a
religious radio program that, although perhaps not warmly greeted in
the Soviet Union, nevertheless was greatly historically important in
supporting both Russian culture and a knowledge of history; a man
who created a publishing house for spiritual literature for Russia;
a man who has done no small amount to preserve Russia’s historic and
cultural heritage and develop it far from the homeland. I would like
to add that this is a man who has done so much to support Russians,
including those who fall on hard times abroad; a man who has made
such a huge contribution to developing the ties of unification
within our Church.
"All of us of sitting in this hall know Fr. Victor very well, so
nothing I say here will come as much of a shock. But I would like to
say that at home, in Russia, Fr. Victor is known for his remarkable
work, and this small document, this Certificate from the Government
Commission, is but a way of saying ‘Thank you’ to Fr. Victor for all
that he does to support our compatriots, in that way upholding ties
with his historic homeland. Back home we know all of this, and are
grateful, and I am able to present Fr. Victor with this certificate
on behalf of the Russian government for the great contributions he
has made. Once more I would like to say, as a Russian, thank you for
doing what you do, supporting your compatriots, supporting the
country, and supporting those roots that you will never forget."
Accepting the high honor, Fr. Victor thanked the ambassador and
said:
"Thank you very much for this honor; to be honest, I would say that
I do what I do not because I must, or because this is some kind of
labor, but simply because service to Christ’s Church demands service
to one’s earthly homeland. I consider Russia to be not only our
historic homeland, but our spiritual homeland, as well. In our
youth, our parents and grandparents taught us that we must love
Russia and serve her, and I hope that this award will serve as a
recognition by the Russian government of the roll our Russian Church
(now united, thank God) continues to play in the social life of
Russian citizens and expatriates. Again,
thank
you
for
this.
I am grateful to you and to Minister of Foreign Sergey Lavrov, in
whose name this award was given. I greet you with the upcoming New
Year and Feast of Christ’s Nativity."
The First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, His Eminence
Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & York, was also present
at the award ceremony, along with Eastern American Diocesan
Secretary, and several parishioners of St. John the Baptist
Cathedral in Washington.
Metropolitan
Hilarion noted Fr. Victor’s important role and valuable
participation in church life.
"Father Victor Potapov, as a graduate of
Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary and other institutions of higher
learning later in life, was one of the main spokesmen for the
Russian Orthodox Church during the years of the Cold War and
Perestroika, working primarily in his capacity as a priest of the
Russian Church Abroad in the religious program ‘Religion in our
Life’ on Voice of America. Over the course of 35 years his program
was listened to by many millions of people in the former Soviet
Union, who thereby received information about the Orthodox faith,
the history of Russia, the history of the Russian Orthodox Church,
and the culture connected with them, much more than they could have
received from other sources in those years. He played a very
important role in the missionary work of the Church to those who
were deprived of religious education in the Soviet Union.
"But in addition to this, Fr. Victor has been very energetic in his
pastoral work as a priest in several parishes, and finally as rector
of St. John the Baptist Cathedral in our nation’s capital. Through
his labors, the church building was finally completed, was
beautifully embellished with iconography, and has grown to be one of
the most vibrant parishes in our Eastern American Diocese. Further,
Fr. Victor has taken part in many Church- and culture-related
organizations. He has written much on Church matters and has been a
spokesman for the Church, taking part in many commissions of our
Church here, as well as in the now-unified Church. He is a very
talented and competent churchman, and we are proud of this
recognition, bestowed upon him by the Russian Federation government
for his work in propagating Russian culture and language, especially
through his work in the Orthodox Church."
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