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12 February 2018 – Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), visited the Russian Federation embassy in Austria.

As part of the visit, Metropolitan Hilarion met with Russian ambassador to Austria D. Lyubinsky. Participating in the meeting were also Archbishop Antoniy of Vienna and Budapest, head of the Moscow Patriarchate office for institutions abroad, counselors to the ambassador, as well all those who accompanied the DECR chairman on his trip to Vienna including Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations, Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeikin), pro-rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (CMI), and I. Kashitsyn, DECR secretariat for interreligious relations.

Russia’s ambassador informed the guests about the cooperation between Russia and Austria in the field of culture, noting in particular that the year 2018 is devoted to cooperation in the field of music. Mr. Lyubinsky also shared his impressions of the concert of Russian church music, which took place on February 10, and which included Metropolitan Hilarion’s compositions.

The sides discussed the topics of the forthcoming conference devoted to the second anniversary of the Havana Meeting between Pope Francis of Rome and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The conference is devoted to the situation of Christians in the Middle East. Metropolitan Hilarion pointed to the high level of cooperation with the Roman Catholic Church and a priority given in it, as was agreed in Havana, to the practical work to support the persecuted Christians.

DECR Communication Service