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On June 17, 2017, a delegation of the Coptic Church arrived in Moscow. In compliance with the decision of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Holy See of St. Mark the delegation will make a pilgrimage to the Orthodox monasteries of Russia.

The visit takes place in the context of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church and is a return visit: a group of monks from the Russian Orthodox Church made a pilgrimage to the Christian holy sites in Egypt in November 2016.

The Coptic  delegation consists of Bishop Daniel, Abbot of St. Paul monastery; Bishop Epiphanious , Abbot of St. Macarius monastery; Bishop Selwanis, Abbot of St. Pachomius monastery; Bishop Kyrillos, Abbot of St. Menas monastery; Bishop Youstos, Abbot of St. Antony monastery; Bishop Daniel of  Maadi, auxiliary bishop of Patriarch Tawadros II; hieromonk Ashia Elbaramosy of St. Mary Baramos monastery; hieromonk Efraim Anba Bishoy of St. Bishoy monastery; hieromonk Sedrak El Syrian of St. Mary el Syrian monastery; hieromonk Sharobiem El Bakhomy of St. Pachomius the Great monastery.

Meeting the delegation at Moscow Domodedovo airport were Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, chairman of the Synodal department for monasteries and monasticism; Bishop Paramon of Bronnitsy, abbot of the Donskoy stavropegic monastery; hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR); Rev.Mikhail Bogdanov, assistant to the chairman of the Synodal department for monasteries and monasticism; and Mr. Sergei Alferov, a DECR staff member.

The guests will stay till June 23. They will meet with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, visit the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius and other monasteries and churches in Moscow and the Moscow region.