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On September 20, 2011, the DECR chairman, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, met with Mr. A. Avdeyev, Russian Federation Minister of Culture, at the ministry’s mansion.

They discussed a wide range of issues concerning cooperation between the Department for External Church Relations and the Ministry of Culture, including the Church’s participation of the Days of Russia to be observed in other countries in 2011 and 2012 as these days involve ecclesiastical events. They also considered the participation of Russian masters in decorating the interior of St. Savva’s in Belgrade, Serbia.

Metropolitan Hilarion informed the minister about preparations for the Easter Festival of Choral Music to take place from January 9 to 24, 2012, at the International House of Music in Moscow and a number of other cultural projects in which the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations is involved.

The talk lasted for over an hour and was held in a warm and constructive atmosphere. As a token of his visit to the ministry, Metropolitan Hilarion presented Mr. Avdeyev with a copy of the book At the Service of the Church published to mark the 65th anniversary of the Department for External Church Relations.

DECR Communication Service