Primate of Orthodox Church of Antioch receives representative of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
On 21 October 2014, His Beatitude Patriarch John X of Great Antioch and All the East received Hegumen Arseniy (Sokolov), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarchal See of Antioch, at his residence in Balamand, Lebanon.
The participants in the meeting discussed the situation of Christians in the Middle East, in particular, in Syria and Iraq, the website of the Representation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Beirut reports. His Beatitude expressed gratitude to the Russian Orthodox Church and her Primate for the solidarity with Christians living in those war-torn countries, for the prayers and the brotherly humanitarian aid rendered to the Syrian people.
During the meeting, His Beatitude Patriarch John shared his idea to organize at the University of Balamand an international conference dedicated to the situation of Christians in the Middle East. Among those invited to the conference will be representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and other Local Churches, as well as representatives of all confessions and religions of the Middle East.
On behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Hegumen Arseniy assured His Beatitude that the Russian Orthodox Church would continue to express her solidarity with Christians of the Middle East, to pray for them and raise her voice in their defence.