DECR Chairman arrives in London

On 11 April 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, arrived in London with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

Metropolitan Hilarion and his suite were met at London Luton airport by Archbishop Yelisei of Sourozh and clerics of the diocese.

The delegation led by Metropolitan Hilarion includes archpriest Nikolai Balashov, DECR deputy chairman; archpriest Vladimir Siloviev, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Publishing House; Rev. Dimitry Ageyev, assistant to DECR chairman; co-founder of the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation Vladimir Yakunin with his wife; the Foundation’s executive director Leonid Sevastianov; head of the sector of international relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Publishing House I. Lapshin, DECR staff member Anatoly Churiakov, and hierodeacon Ioann (Kopeikin), assistant to the DECR chairman.

Metropolitan Hilarion will take part in the official opening of the London Book Fair and lead the presentation of the English edition of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill’s book, “Freedom and Responsibility.”