The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said in his greeting message to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, who was enthroned on Sunday: "It was with the greatest joy that we heard the news of Your Holiness's election to be supreme pastor of the great Church of Moscow and All Russia."
"Your experience as a teacher and defender of the Orthodox Faith, and as a deeply respected and loved representative of the Russian Church in ecumenical contexts, will have been, in God's Providence, a fitting preparation for this high dignity."
"Your many friends abroad are confident that you will fill it with immense distinction, and that you will build upon the great work of consolidation and extension first directed by your lamented predecessor, His Holiness Alexy II of blessed memory, who so helped the Church to become once again a living force in Russian society."
Archbishop Williams said he would like to meet with Patriarch Kirill in the U.K. "When opportunity allows, it would be a privilege to welcome you here in Britain - as my predecessor welcomed yours - as a valued guest and friend in Christ," he said.
The Russian Orthodox Church enthroned on Sunday its new leader, Patriarch Kirill, at a ceremony held in the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow.
Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad was elected as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia on January 27 by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, succeeding Patriarch Alexy II, who died in December at the age of 79.
The enthronement ceremony was attended by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
An articulate public speaker, Kirill is seen as a liberal figure in the largely traditionalist Russian church and led dialogue with the Vatican as head of the Russian Orthodox Church's external relations, a post he occupied for more than a decade.
Pope Benedict XVI earlier welcomed the election of Kirill as patriarch.
"May the Almighty also bless your efforts to seek that fullness of communion which is the goal of Catholic-Orthodox collaboration and dialogue," Pope Benedict said in his greeting message.
On Monday, Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity in the Holy See, handed Patriarch Kirill a personal message from Benedict XVI.
Relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican, which split almost 1,000 years ago, have been strained since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, mainly over accusations that the Catholic Church stepped up activities to convert believers. The Vatican has denied this.
The dispute prevented Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, from visiting Moscow and meeting Alexy II.
