Metropolitan Hilarion begins his visit to Tallinn

2On 28 April 2011, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), arrived in Tallinn with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

The DECR chairman was met at the airport by Metropolitan Korniliy of Tallinn and Estonia, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Estonian Republic Yu. Merzliakov, and cleric of the Estonian Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Hilarion is accompanied by the DECR deputy chairman archpriest Nikolai Balashov, assistant to the DECR chairman hierodeacon Ioann (Kopeikin), head of the “Orthodox Encyclopaedia” Church Scholarly Centre S. Kravets, executive director of the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation L. Sevastianov, and head of the sector of international relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Publishing House I. Lapshin.

The programme of the visit includes celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Tallinn Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, meetings with Metropolitan Korniliy, and presentation of the book entitled “Orthodoxy in Estonia. Studies and Documents” at the Tallinn National Library.