Department for External Church Relations
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DECR chairman meets with Coptic monastic delegation
On 21 June 2017, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations, met with representatives of the monastic community of the Coptic Church.
The Coptic delegation, which is undertaking pilgrimage to the Orthodox monasteries in Moscow and the Moscow Region, includes Bishop Daniel, Abbot of St. Paul monastery, assistant to Patriarch Tawadros II on monasteries and monasticism; 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; and hieromonk Sharobiem El Bakhomy of St. Pachomius the Great monastery.
Representing the Russian Orthodox Church at the meeting were also Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian cooperation; Rev. Mikhail Bodanov, assistant to the chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism; and Mr. Sergei Alferov, DECR staff member.
Metropolitan Hilarion told the guests about the activities of the Department for External Church Relations and about the present-day life of the Russian Orthodox Church. The representatives of the Coptic Church shared impressions of their visits to various churches and monasteries and noted the keen interest of the Russian people to faith and church life. Having expressed satisfaction with the current progress in the relationships between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, the DECR chairman emphasized the closeness of the spiritual traditions of the Coptic and Russian monasticism and the importance of promoting contacts in this sphere.
The participants in the meeting also discussed the problem of persecution of Christians in a number of countries in the Middle East and the efforts that the Moscow Patriarchate makes to defend them.
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24.01.2021
06.11.2020