DECR chairman receives an official delegation of the Patriarchate of Georgia
An official delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church came to Moscow on 29 September 2009 at the invitation of the Russian Orthodox Church and with the blessing of His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya II of All Georgia. The delegation included Metropolitan Gerasim of Zugdidi and Tsaishi, head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s foreign department, Archimandrite David Chincharauli, head of the Patriarchal staff, and Archpriest George Kharazashvili, head of the Georgian Patriarchate’s protocol department.
On September 30, they met with Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the department for external church relations. DECR vice-chairman Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR acting secretary for inter-Orthodox relations Rev. Igor Yakimchuk, and Deacon Dionisy Kazansev of the DECR secretariat for inter-Orthodox relations joined the meeting. The talk was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The questions under discussion included both bilateral relations between the two patriarchates and general Orthodox concerns. The participants exchanged souvenirs.
After the meeting the guests from what was Iberia in antiquity visited the Church of the Holy Resurrection at Sokolniki to bow before the venerated Icon of Our Lady of Iveron and lighted before it a traditional large Georgian candle, a gift from Catholicos-Patriarch Iliya II. The visit of the official delegation of the Georgian Orthodox Church is expected to last till October 3.