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On May 14, 2017, in conclusion of his trip to Washington for the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), visited the Embassy of the Russian Federation to meet the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary from the Russian Federation to the USA, Sergey I. Kislyak.

Present at the meeting were Bishop Ioann of Naro-Fominsk, administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA, Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeikin), pro-rector for training, Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies, Philip Champion, DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations, and Igor Shaktar-ool, first secretary of the Russian embassy in the USA.

A wide range of issues of mutual concern was discussed. Metropolitan Hilarion shared with Mr. Kislyak his impressions of the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, stressing the importance of coordinated actions of Russia and America in the struggle with terrorism. It is only through joint efforts of all the people of good will that the unprecedented genocide of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East and a number of countries in Africa and Asia can be stopped.

Mr. Kislyak, on his part, pointed to the importance of joint actions of representatives of Christian Churches in providing humanitarian aid for the people in the Middles East who have suffered from the genocide.

In conclusion of the talk, tokens of the meeting were exchanged.

 

DECR Communication Service