| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk begins a working visit to the Antiochian Orthodox Church DECR Communication service, 20.01.2023. On the 20 th of January, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, arrived in Lebanon. Metropolitan Anthony was accompanied by Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Adviser to His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Deputy Chairman Department for External Church Relations, and Priest Alexander Ershov, Assistant to the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations. On arrival in Beirut, Metropolitan Anthony and his entourage went to the Metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church, where they were warmly welcomed by its rector, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East. The delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church then visited the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Jal El Dib, which is being reconstructed with the assistance of DECR with funding fr om the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage. Since 2020, with the blessing of the ruling bishop of the local diocese of the Patriarchate of Antioch, Metropolitan Silouan of Mount Lebanon, services have been held in this church for the Russian Orthodox community of Lebanon. Metropolitan Silouan of Mount Lebanon and Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, accompanied by local clergy and Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), performed a thanksgiving service. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Lebanon, A.N. Rudakov, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, E.I. Skopenko, manager of the reconstruction of the church, architect D. Naamen, and numerous parishioners of the Russian Orthodox community were present at the service. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Second meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Church is held DECR Communication service, 19.02.2023 On 11-16th of February, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus " and His Holiness Patriarch-Catholicos Abune Mathias of Ethiopia, the second meeting of the Commission for Bilateral Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. From the Moscow Patriarchate side, there were Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, Patriarchal Exarch for Africa, co-chair of the Commission; Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations, secretary of the Commission; V. V. Kipshidze,vice-chairman of the Synodal Department for the Church’s Relations with Society and the Media; Deacon Dimitry Serov, director of the Moscow Theological Academy Publishers; S. G. Alferov, a DECR staff member. The Ethiopian side was represented by Archbishop Philipos of South Omo, rector of the Holy Trinity Theological Academy in Addis-Ababa, co-chair of the Commission; Rev. Daniel Sayfemichael, head of the Ethiopian Church Department for External Relations, secretary of the Commission; Archimandrite Uedejesus Sefugalato, deputy chancellor of the Ethiopian Church, dean of the parishes in Addis-Ababa. During the meeting, the Commission reviewed joint projects implemented since its previous meeting in Addis Ababa (January 21-25, 2019) and discussed future plans for collaboration. Today the bilateral dialogue is developing cooperation in a number of topical areas, including: countering Christianophobia; supporting traditional moral values in the modern world; mutual assistance in the pastoral care of believers of the two Churches living in Russia and Ethiopia; coordination of interaction between the two Churches at the level of foreign communities and international venues; contacts in the academic and youth spheres; cooperation in the sphere of church art and production of church tableware; and cooperation in the field of the arts and culture. |
| Metropolitan Hilarion Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of His Episcopal Consecration Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru January the 14th, 2022, the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord and the commemoration day of St. Basil the Great, marked the 20th anniversary of the episcopal consecration of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. The Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate presided over the festive Divine Liturgy at the church of the Icon of the Mother of God ‘the Joy to All Who Sorrow’ in Moscow. His concelebrants were Metropolitan Dionisy of Voskresensk, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate; Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Metropolitan Zinovy of Saransk and Mordovia; Metropolitan Anthony of Chersonesus and Western Europe, Patriarchal Exarch for Western Europe; Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, Patriarchal Exarch for Africa; Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Archimandrite Seraphim (Shemyatovsky), representative of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia to the Patriarchal See of Moscow; Archpriest Kakhaber Gogotishvili, a cleric of the Georgian Orthodox Church; and the clergy of the church. During the Prayer of Fervent Supplication, prayerful petitions were offered for the deliverance from the coronavirus infection. After the Divine Liturgy, Metropolitan Dionisy of Voskresensk read out a congratulatory message from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Metropolitan Hilarion’s episcopal consecration. Then Metropolitan Niphon of Philipoppolis extended congratulations to His Eminence Hilarion on behalf of the representatives of Local Orthodox Church to the Patriarchal See of Moscow. He noted in particular, “In your youth you were given the gift of faith in God. Through the subsequent years, you have lived up to this faith, developing it and bearing in yourself the flame of love for neighbours. In ascending the stairs of the service of the Holy Church and accumulating knowledge and experience in carrying out various tasks, you have discovered how rich the Lord is in His mercy to us in His great love wherewith He loved us (Eph. 2:4). |
| Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk speaks at the opening of the 4th European Orthodox-Catholic forum in Minsk Source: DECR On 2 June 2014, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), arrived in Minsk with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to take part in the 4th European Orthodox-Catholic Forum. Metropolitan Hilarion is accompanied by hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, and hierodeacon Nikolai (Ono). Upon his arrival in the capital of Belarus, Metropolitan Hilarion visited the Minsk Diocesan Administration and met with Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarch Exarch of All Belarus. The 4th European Orthodox-Catholic Forum on ‘Religion and Cultural Pluralism: Challenges for the Christian Churches in Europe’ opened in the conference hall at the Memorial Church of All the Saints in Minsk in the evening of June 2. Taking part in the forum are bishops of the Orthodox and Catholic jurisdictions of Europe, clergymen and theologians. Mr. Leonid Guliako, envoy for religious affairs and nationalities of the Republic of Belarus, read out greetings from the Byelorussian President, Alexander Lukashenko. Metropolitan Philaret (Vakhromeyev), Honourary Exarch of All Belarus, greeted the delegates, noting the importance of the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, and wished them fruitful work. Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima (Ecumenical Patriarchate), co-chairmen of the Forum from the Orthodox side, read out greeting from Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Message from Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, with greetings from His Holiness Pope Francis, was read out by Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Apostolic Nuncio to Belarus. Metropolitan Pavel of Minsk and Slutsk greeted the participants on behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church. He called the work for the preservation of moral evangelical values a major task of the present state of the Orthodox-Catholic cooperation. The fact of holding the dialogue in Belarus is symbolic, as Belarus has given a traditional example of inter-confessional peace and successful cooperation among representatives of different confessions. |
| 4th Meeting of Commission for Dialogue between ROC and Assyrian Church held in India Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru From November 13 to 18, 2019, the 4 th meeting of the Commission of Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Assyrian Church of the East took place in Thrissur, Kerala State, India. The Moscow Patriarchate delegation included Bishop Clement of Krasnoslobodsk and Temnikov, co-chairman of the Commission; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Department for External Church relations; and S. Alferov, DECR, secretary of the commission. Representing the Assyrian Church of the East were Bishop Mar Awa Royel of California, secretary of the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church of the East, co-chairman of the Commission; Cor-Bishop George Kanon Toma, cleric of St. Andrew’s Church in Glenview, Illinois, USA; Priest Ephraim Alkhas, secretary of the commission; and Deacon Roland Bidzhamov, cleric of the Assyrian diocese of Northern Iraq and the CIS. Metropolitan Mar Aprem Mooken of India, the oldest member of the Synod, and Bishop Eugene Kyriakos, vicar of the Metropolis of India, welcomed the participants in the meeting on behalf of His Holiness Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Gewargis III of the Assyrian Church of the East, who recalled with warmth his repeated visits to Russia, with the latest one made in late May-early June 2014, during the historic visit of the late Catholicos-Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV to the Russian Orthodox Church in June 2014. The commission discussed the implementation of agreements reached at the previous meeting in October 2018 in Sankt-Petersburg and defined the further cooperation program to be approved by the Supreme Church Authority. The meeting noted the successful development of inter-church contacts in the academic field, in particular, in students’ exchanges, as in autumn 2018, the first representative of the Assyrian Church of the East, Rev. Addai Daniel Nazlu, was enrolled in Moscow Theological Academy. It is planned to involve representatives of the Assyrian Church in academic conferences organized by the Moscow Patriarchate theological schools and to invite delegates of the Russian Orthodox Church to similar events held by the Assyrian Church’s educational institution, in particular, in the recently opened Nisibis Theological College in Sydney, Australia. In 2021, the 2 nd Summer Institute will be organized in Moscow for young Assyrian clergy and student. Its program will include visits to synodal establishments of the Russian Orthodox Church and introduction to ecclesiastical and historical-cultural sights in Russia. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with a delegation of religious figures and scholars from Iran DECR Communication Service, 22.02.2023. On February 22, 2023, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia received in audience at the Patriarchal Residence in St. Daniel Monastery a delegation of religious figures and scholars from Iran who have come to Russia for the 12 th session of the Joint Russian-Iranian Commission for Orthodoxy-Islam Dialogue, which completed its first day of work on February 21, 2023. Participating in the meeting from the Russian Orthodox Church were Metropolitan Kirill of Kazan and Tatarstan, co-chair of the Commission’s ecclesial part; Archimandrite Alexander (Zarkeshev), rector of the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Teheran and the St. Phillip Church in Ash Shriqah, UAE; Rev. Dimitry Safonov, DECR secretary for interreligious relations; Hieromonk Gregory (Matrusov), chairman of the Patriarchal Experts Council for Cooperation with the Islamic World. There was also M.R. Baranov, deputy director of the Second Asia Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From the Iranian side, there were Hojjat ul-Islam Mohammad Mahdi Imanipour, chairman of the Organization for Islamic Culture and Communication in Iran, co-chair of the Commission from the Iranian side; Mr Kazem Jalali, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation; Hojjat ul-Islam Mehdi Bakhtawar, representative of the Iranian Spiritual Leader in Moscow; Prof Fatima Tabatabai, University of Teheran, head of the Scientific Association of Islamic Learning in Iran; Mr. Masoud Ahmadvand, head of the Cultural Representation of Iran in Russia; Mr Hamid Hadawi, President of the Ibn Sina Islamic Cultural Research Foundation; Ms Zahra Rashid-Beigi, leader of the Islam-Orthodoxy dialogue group of the Islamic Culture and Communication Organization in Iran; and Mr Hossein Jahangiri, councillor, Iranian Embassy in Russia. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy His Holiness Patriarch Kirill takes part in the meeting of Primates and delegations of Local Orthodox Churches in Amman On 26 February 2020, Primates and delegations of Local Orthodox Churches met in the capital of Jordan, Amman. During his visit to Moscow, on 21 November 2019, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem put forward an initiative to hold a meeting for discussing the situation in the inter-church relations and the preservation of Orthodox unity. Participating in the meeting were His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Holiness Patriarch Irinej of Serbia, His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, as well as delegations of the Romanian Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Nifon of Targoviste, and of the Polish Orthodox Church led by His Eminence Archbishop Abel of Lublin and Chelm. The official delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church consisted of His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine; Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR); Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; Archimandrite Aleksandr (Yelisov) head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem; and Mr. Vladimir Legoida, chairman of the Synodal Department for Church’s Relations with Society and Mass Media. The meeting began with common prayer in several languages. The Primate of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem greeted the participants and said: We know that unity is a God’s gift and we are aware of our responsibility for the preservation of unity left to us by the apostles. We have gathered here in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our dialogue is based on Christian love which is the only way to reconciliation. Answers to all our questions must be found in dialogue and fraternal love. |
| August 31, 2018 – During a meeting with journalists, which took place at the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the DECR chairman Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told them about the meeting of the primates of the Church of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church. The meeting has taken place today at the building of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Phanar quarter in Istanbul. As Metropolitan Hilarion reported, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, having come to Phanar, venerated the shrines in the Patriarchal Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Protomartyr George, including the relics of Ss Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom. At the Patriarchate, the primate of the Russian Church was welcomed by His Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew. The first part of the meeting took place in the official format. Present at it were all the members of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. His Holiness Patriarchate Bartholomew greeted the guest after which His Holiness Patriarch Kirill delivered brief remarks in response. Then the two primates withdrew to Patriarch Bartholomew’s office where a confidential private talk took place. Present at this talk, from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, was Metropolitan Emmanuel of France and from the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. ‘The talk lasted in total about two and a half hours. It was very frank, very cordial; it really was a talk from heart to heart’, the DECR chairman stressed. His Eminence reminded the journalists that Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Kirill met in 1977 and they have a very long and rich history of personal relationships; as far back as before their election to the Patriarchal ministry, they worked much together for achieving a consensus on very diverse topics on the pan-Orthodox agenda. ‘This meeting was important first of all for the strengthening of personal relationships between the two patriarchs and, of course, for strengthening bilateral relations between our two Churches’ the archpastor said, ‘the interlocutors touched upon a wide range of issues including those on the agenda of the bilateral relations, as well as problems of pan-Orthodox unity. The talk, which began in a very sincere atmosphere, ended on a very friendly note, and the patriarchs exchanged gifts’. Metropolitan Hilarion expressed hope that the meeting would become another important event in the already ages-long history of bilateral relations between the two Churches. |
| Christian Response to Challenges of the Pandemic Discussed at Online-Conference Photo: mospat.ru A conference titled “Church and the Pandemic”, associated with the fifth anniversary of the Havana Meeting between Pope Francis and His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, took place online on February 12, 2021, reported the Department for External Church Relations (DECR). In his report , Metropolitan Hilarion, Chairman of the DECR of the Moscow Patriarchate, noted that the coronavirus pandemic has become a huge and unexpected trial for the entire world. “This global disaster has revealed quite a number of acute international and social imbalances. In order to correct them it is important, as never before, not only to do joint missionary work, but also to engage in joint actions”, he emphasized, “Today we are called to comprehend the challenges we are facing so that in the months to come we could join efforts to help work out adequate solutions of aggravating problems in order to be able to present ways to overcome these problems, which are shared by major Christian Churches.” The DECR chairman stated that the problems have affected both society and Christian Churches throughout the world. “The dramatic situation last spring and the strict restrictions imposed on any gathering of people demanded that a whole series of measures had to be taken by the Supreme Authority of the Russian Orthodox Church,” the metropolitan said. He also pointed out that the emergency situation promoted the accelerated mastering of appropriate technologies that had been used on a very small scale before the pandemic. “Certainly, the ‘virtual’ presence at a divine service in no way can replace the real participation in it, primarily, in the sacrament of the Eucharist”, the hierarch emphasized, “However, in those hard conditions, the spread of live streaming services was not only because of the pastoral need and concern for the common good, but also offered the Church certain missionary opportunities. By the example of my Moscow parish I can attest that during the pandemic tens of thousands of people participated in live steaming of worship services – much more than could be even accommodated in the church”. |
| Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk heads liturgy at Moscow representation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Source: DECR Photo: mospat.ru On 26 th July 2022, on the feast of the Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel, celebrations took place at the metochion of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch to mark the patronal feast day. The Divine Liturgy in the Church of the Archangel Gabriel was celebrated by the Chairman of the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk and the representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and dean of the metochion, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis. Photo: mospat.ru Serving with the bishops were the representative of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East archimandrite Philipp (Vasiltsev) and the clergy of the metochion. Protodeacon Vladimir Nazarkin headed the diaconal part of the service. At the conclusion of the Liturgy a prayer service was offered to the archangel Gabriel in the open air in the courtyard of the church. The prayer service was attended by representatives of the diplomatic missions of Mexico, Belgium, USA, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Montenegro, Argentina, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Romania, Luxemburg, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Tunisia, Columbia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Iraq, Albania, Palestine, France, Greece and Denmark. Among those present was also the president of the International Foundation for the Spiritual Unity of Nations V.A. Alexeyev. Photo: mospat.ru At the conclusion of the prayer service, Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis greeted the chairman of the DECR and said: “It is a great joy for me today, Vladyka, to convey to all those present at this celebration the love, blessing, prayers and greetings of our Patriarch, the Most Blessed John, Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East. |
|
|
