DECR chairman meets with His Beatitude Patriarch John of Antioch

On 15 September 2017, while in Lebanon upon 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, visited the the Archdiocese of Beirut of the Patriarchate of Antioch and had a meeting with Metropolitan Elias of Beirut and Dependencies.

That same day Metropolitan Hilarion met with the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Antioch, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of the Great Antioch and All the East.

The DECR chairman conveyed to His Beatitude fraternal greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and an invitation to visit Moscow and attend the celebrations marking the centenary of the restoration of the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church.

His Beatitude Patriarch John expressed his profound gratitude to the Russian Orthodox Church for the support that it offers in various spheres to the Christians in Syria, suffering from the war.

The participants in the meeting also discussed prospects of cooperation between the Patriarchate of Antioch and the Moscow Patriarchate in theological education.

Taking part in the meeting were also Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; Hegumen Arseniy (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East; Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations; and Mr. Alexander Yershov, assistant to the DECR chairman.

DECR Communication Service