Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi last month ended a four-day visit to Moscow on the invitation of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill I.

The meeting is significant and constitutes an advanced step taken by Rahi to bring closer Eastern churches of various doctrines. This approach is supported by the Kremlin and the Vatican, which seek to protect the Christian minorities in the East, whose survival is being challenged by the dominance of Islamic forces over the Arab Spring movements.

An Eastern church source revealed to Al-Monitor that Rahi and Kirill I discussed in their meeting in Moscow several topics related to fortifying the Christian presence in the Middle East, and joint steps to be taken to preserve this presence. They also discussed ways to strengthen relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Eastern Maronite Church. According to the same source, Rahi also met with the speaker of the Russian State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin, in Moscow, where they discussed political issues related to the ongoing church deliberations over consolidatory efforts to protect the Christian presence in the East.

Within the collaborative plan between Moscow — at the religious (Orthodox) and political levels — and the Vatican — the head of the Western Catholic Church — to protect the Christian presence in the East, the Maronite Patriarchal edifice in Lebanon represents a strategic fulcrum in this regard. Lebanon is a rallying point for the Christian role in the region. According to an Orthodox church source, the story of the church’s historical, cultural and democratic distinction may be the same for Christians in and outside of the entire Arab World.