Former chaplain of the Anglican parish in Moscow awarded Patriarchal letter of commendation
On 4 September 2017, upon the blessing of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations, met with the Rev. Canon Simon Stephens, former Chaplain of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Moscow, and handed over to him an award of the Russian Orthodox Church – the Patriarchal Letter of Commendation – for his contribution to the development of inter-Christian cooperation.
Revd Simon Stephens was the Chaplain of St. Andrew’s parish for about fifteen years, actively promoting cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of England. Recently he has been succeeded at this post by the Revd Canon Malcolm Rogers, whose inauguration took place on 3 September 2017 with the participation of Bishop Robert Innes of Gibraltar in Europe (Church of England).
Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov) and Revd Simon Stephens discussed a number issues of mutual interest relating to the cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of England.
Taking part in the meeting, held at the Department for External Church Relations, were Ms. Yelena Speranskaya, DECR consultant, and Mr. Philip Champion of the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations.
DECR Communication Service