DECR chairman meets with Ambassador of Bulgaria to Russia
On 1 June 2018, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, met with H. E. Boyko Kotzev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Russian Federation, who is completing his diplomatic mission in Moscow.
They were joined at the meeting, which took place at the DECR premises, by Archpriest Sergy Zvonarev, DECR secretary for far abroad countries, and Ms Kristina Drasheva, first secretary of the Bulgarian Embassy.
Metropolitan Hilarion warmly greeted the guests, congratulated Ambassador Kotzev on the high award of the Russian Orthodox Church – the Order of St. Seraphim of Sarov (3rd class) which he received from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, expressed gratitude for the longstanding cooperation between the Bulgarian Embassy and the Moscow Patriarchate and wished him success in his new position.
The DECR chairman and the Bulgarian Ambassador highly appreciated the level of cooperation between the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches, recently manifested in the canonization of St. Seraphim (Sobolev) and in reciprocal visits of the Primates of both Churches.