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On 22 October 2012, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, arrived in New York. Meeting him at the airport were Mr. Igor Golubovsky, Consul General of the Russian Federation in New York; Mr. Sergey Karev, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations; and Mr. Grigory Lukyantsev, Senior Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations.

While in New York, Metropolitan Hilarion will speak at the session of the UN 3rd Committee and will meet with the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and with the President of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Vuk Jeremić.

The DECR chairman will also visit the Nashotah House seminary, where he will take part in the session of the Anglican-Orthodox dialogue and speak at the academic assembly. In Chicago, Metropolitan Hilarion will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the church of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. In Philadelphia, the DECR chairman will visit the Villanova University. After that he will return to New York to take part in the meeting of the Board of Trustees of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological seminary.

Accompanying Metropolitan Hilarion on his visit are Mr. Leonid Sevastianov, executive director of the St. Gregory the Theologian Foundation; hierodeacon Ioann (Kopeikin), assistant to the DECR chairman; and Mr. Miguel Palacio, a DECR staff member.