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On April 3, 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, visited the Church of Antioch representation in Moscow, on an invitation of Archbishop Niphon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Great Antioch and all the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. There was a dinner at the parish house together with diplomats accredited in the Russian Federation.

There were Ambassadors Smail Chergui of Algeria, P. Grozdanov of Bulgaria, M. El-Hadidi of Egypt, A. Lecheheb of Morocco, K. Gregorie of Romania, K. Jinaoui of Tunisia, and Walter B. Giger of Switzerland.

The dinner was held in an informal and friendly atmosphere. Among the wide range of issues discussed was the political situation in the Middle East and North African countries. Metropolitan Hilarion told the diplomats about the peace efforts made by the Russian Orthodox Church and about various aspects of inter-Christian dialogue.

The DECR chairman expressed deep gratitude to Archbishop Niphon for hospitality, noting that thanks to him the Antiochian church representation in Moscow has become a place for regular meetings of people representing various nationalities, cultures and traditions.

DECR Communication Service