Secretariat for interreligious relations is instituted at the DECR

The section for interreligious contacts of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations is reorganized into the secretariat for interreligious relations with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. The secretariat’s responsibilities include development and maintenance of contacts with non-Christian traditional religious association in Russia and abroad, with the Interreligious Councils of Russia and the CIS, as well as dealing with the issues related to the situation of the persecuted Christians.

In compliance with the resolution of the Holy Synod of 24 December 2015, the issues related to the development of interreligious relations were transferred to the DECR; its chairman, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk was appointed representative of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Presidium of the Interreligious Council of Russia.

With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk appointed Rev. Dimitry Safonov DECR secretary for interreligious relations. He was the head of the sector for interreligious contacts from 2013 and has been executive secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia since 2016.