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November 1, 2017 – Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), made a working visit to Georgia, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

At the Patriarchal residence in Tbilisi, Metropolitan Hilarion was received in audience by His Holiness and Beatitude Iliya II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia. Participating in the meeting were several bishops and priests of the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Metropolitan Hilarion conveyed to the Primate of the Georgian Orthodox Church greetings from Patriarch Kirill and invited him to visit Moscow for the celebrations marking the centenary of the restoration of the Patriarchal Office in the Russian Orthodox Church. They also discussed topics concerning cooperation between the two sister Local Orthodox Churches.

As a token of the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion presented Patriarch Iliya with an old print with a portrait of the Georgian Catholicos Anthony as well as rare copies of the book ‘The Cultural Role of Iberia in the Life of Russia’ by Bishop Kyrion (later Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia) and ‘Autocephaly of the Georgian Church’ by Bishop Kallistrat (who also became later the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia) with an autograph of the author. Patriarch Iliya, in his turn, presented Metropolitan Hilarion with an icon lamp executed by Georgian goldsmiths.

On the same day, Metropolitan Hilarion returned to Russia.

DECR Communication Service