DECR chairman meets with Charge d’Affaires ad interim of Israel to Russia
On 24th December 2019, at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Theological Institute of Postgraduate Studies, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, rector of the Theological Institute, met with Mr. Yacov Livne, Charge d’Affaires ad interim of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation.
They were joined in the meeting by Archpriest Sergy Zvonarev, DECR secretary for far abroad countries; Mr. Yosef Zilberman, First Secretary of the Israeli Embassy; and Mr. Oad Cohen Arazi, Attaché of the Israeli Embassy.
Mr. Livne told about his mission in Moscow. The participants in the meeting noted that the Embassy of Israel in Moscow and the Russian Orthodox Church have maintained constructive cooperation and discussed plans for its further promotion in the near future.
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk told the guest about the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem and friendly relationships between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Among other issues under discussion was the promotion of pilgrimage and tourism to the holy places and sights located in the territory of Russia and Israel.
The participants in the meeting also mentioned that the year 2020 would mark that 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two and emphasized the importance of commemorating the victims of those tragic events, including those of the Holocaust.
Metropolitan Hilarion noted a high level of interreligious dialogue in Russia, highlighting the activities of the Interreligious Council of Russia.
DECR Communication Service