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On 5th October 2020, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, visited the residence of the Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the Russian Federation, where he met with the heads of diplomatic missions from eight countries.

Taking part in the meeting were H.E. Pasquale K. Terraciano, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Russia; H.E. Debora Bronnert, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Great Britain to Russia; H.E. Pierre Lévy, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Russia; H.E. Ekaterini Nassika, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Greece to Russia; H.E. Atanas Krastin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to Russia; H.E. Miroslav Lazansky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Serbia to Russia; H.E. Chawki Bou Nassar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Lebanon to Russia; H.E. Tovar da Silva Nunes, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil to Russia; and staff members of the Italian Embassy in Moscow.

Among the topics raised during the meeting were the plight of Christians in the Middle East, political crisis in Lebanon, conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, problems of the Russian-Ukrainian relationships, global warming, COVID-19 pandemic, Russian-Bulgarian and Russian-Serbian church ties, ways to overcome the church schism in Ukraine, and the situation in Turkey after Hagia Sophia had been converted into a mosque.

Answering question from those present, Metropolitan Hilarion told about the inter-Christian and interreligious contacts of the Russian Orthodox Church and about the Moscow Patriarchate’s position on a number of social issues.

The participants in the meeting agreed to continue contacts in the bilateral format.

DECR Communication Service