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DECR chairman Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met on 21 April 2010 with Russian Ambassador in Ecuador Ya. Burlay. Taking part in their talk was M. Palacio of the DECR secretariat for far-abroad countries.

The discussion concerned the situation of the Russian Orthodox community in Ecuador. His Eminence Hilarion thanked Mr. Burlay for the invariable support the Russian embassy gave to the Moscow Patriarchate’s Parish of the Holy Trinity in Quito. ‘I know that thanks to your efforts our parish managed in January to rent the building of the former Russian trade office and to use it not only for divine services but also for the Sunday school lessons’, he said.

The metropolitan informed the ambassador that during Patriarch Kirill’s talk with Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa Delgado in October 2009, Ecuadorian representatives were invited to take part in the Patriarchal council of experts on Economy and Ethic. In this connection, the DECR chairman asked Mr. Burlay to help establish contacts with Ecuadorian experts.

Mr. Burlay told the metropolitan about the development of Russian-Ecuadorian relations and the socio-political situation in Ecuador. He noted that the Moscow Patriarchate’s parish played a great role in the life of the Russian diaspora and expressed readiness to continue fostering the positions of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ecuador. ‘At present, efforts are underway to purchase a plot of land for the construction of a church. We are holding negotiations about it with the Quito City Council’, he said.

In conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion gave Ambassador Burlay a disk with the music of his Divine Liturgy.

DECR Communication Service