Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk meets with U.S. Ambassador to Russia

On 11 April 2016, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, met with Mr. John F. Tefft, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Russian Federation. They were joined in the meeting, which took place at the DECR premises, by Mr. Miguel Palacio and Ms Olga Mazur, staff members of the DECR Secretariat for Far-Abroad Countries, as well as by Mr. David Holmes, Deputy Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs of the U.S. Embassy, and Mr. Christopher Grossman, Second Secretary of the U.S. Embassy.

During the meeting the DECR chairman and the high-ranking American diplomat discussed various issues of mutual interest.

In response to Mr. Tefft’s request, Metropolitan Hilarion spoke about the outcome of the meeting between His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Pope Francis, as well as about the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church aimed at protecting persecuted Christians in the Middle East.

DECR Communication Service