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On 21 November 2017, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the DECR, met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby. Talks were held with the delegation of the Church of England accompanying the Archbishop on his visit to Moscow.

Taking part in the talks from the Anglican side were Bishop of Ebbsfleet Jonathan Goodall; Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe Robert Innes; Rev. Dr. William Adam, Ecumenical Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury; Canon David Porter, Chief of Staff and Strategy; Rev. Malcolm Rogers, chaplain of St. Andrew’s Church in Moscow; Mrs. Ailsa Anderson-Cole, Director of Communications; and journalist Michael Binyon; and from the Russian Orthodox Church Archbishop Yelisei of Sourozh; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov) DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; Rt. Rev. Stephen Platt, rector of the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Oxford; and Mr. Philipp Champion, a staff member of the DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations.

Discussed was a wide range of topics of mutual interest touched on at the meeting of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia with the Archbishop of Canterbury, including the work of the Coordinating Committee for Cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Church of England. The Committee deals also with academic exchange.

Also discussed were persecution of Christians in the Middle East and other regions of the world, traditional values and marriage, as well as relationship of Churches with secular society. Special attention was paid to the Joint Declaration on the support of Christians in the Middle East signed by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

That same day Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk attended a welcome reception given at the Embassy of Great Britain in honour of Archbishop Welby’s visit to Moscow.