Working group on cooperation between Russian Orthodox Church and Russian Foreign Ministry meets at DECR

On 25 April 2012, the 17^th meeting of the Working Group for cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was held at the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR).

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the DECR chairman, and Grigory Karasin, state secretary and deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation, who co-chair the Commission, opened the meeting.

The participants discussed many questions on the agenda, including common work in defence of the rights of Christians all over the world and support of compatriots living abroad.

Priority directions of cooperation for the nearest future were outlined.