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On June 12, 2011, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations, arrived in Cairo, Egypt, for a working visit.

The DECR chairman was met at the international airport by Archimandrite Leonid (Gorbachev) representative of the Patriarch of Moscow to the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Archimandrite Chrysostom of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, and Mr. I. Molotkov, minister-counsellor of the Russian embassy in Egypt.

Later that day, Russian Ambassador M. Bogdanov gave dinner in honour of Metropolitan Hilarion at the embassy’s residence. As Mr. Bogdanov has been appointed Russia’s deputy foreign minister, the DECR chairman wished him success in his service in the new office and expressed hope for further cooperation.

The metropolitan’s program of two-day visit will include meetings with His Beatitude Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and the Grand Imam of the Al-Azhar Islamic University, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, as well as a lecture at Al-Azhar.

Metropolitan Hilarion is accompanied by Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, Hierodeacon Ioann (Kopeikin) assistant to the DECR chairman, and Mr. L. Sevastyanov, executive director of the St. Gregory the Theologian Foundation.

DECR Communication Service