Group working on the Inter-Council Presence commission’s document on accepting people from non-Orthodox communities and schisms meets at the DECR

The working group for drafting the Inter-Council commission’s documents on accepting people from non-Orthodox communities and schisms met on January 12, 2012, at the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations. It was chaired by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. The meeting considered documents on ‘Accession of the Non-Orthodox to the Orthodox Church’ presented by the Inter-Council Presence’s commission on attitude to non-Orthodoxy and other religions, and ‘Acceptance of People from Schisms to the Church Fold’ presented by the Inter-Council commission on opposing and overcoming church schisms.

The meeting made recommendations for the improvement of the drafts.

The meeting was attended by Archpriest Nikolay Balashov and Fr. Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairmen, Fr. Savva (Tutunov), deputy chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, Prof. Archpriest Maxim Kozlov of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations, Archpriest Vladimir Shmaliy, pro-rector of the Sts Cyril and Methodius Post-Graduate and Doctoral School, and Archpriest Dimitry Sizonenko, DECR acting secretary for inter-Christian relations.

DECR Communication Service