Department for External Church Relations
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The Primate of the Malankara Church arrives in Russia
On August 31, 2019, at the invitation of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, the Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Church, India, His Holiness Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, arrived in Russia. During his official visit he is accompanied by Metropolitan Zachariah Mar Nikolovos, head of the Malankara Church department for external church relations; Metropolitan Yuhanon Mar Diascoros, secretary of the Malankara Church Holy Synod; Rev. Abraham Thomas, secretary of the Malankara Church department for external church relations; and Rev. Aswin Zefrin Fernandis, head of the Malankara Catholicos’s protocol service; Rev. Jiss Jonson, personal secretary to His Holiness the Catholicos; Mr. Jacob Mathew, member of the Malankara Church Council; Mr. Kevin George Koshi, head of the communication service of the Malankara Church department for external church relations; Dr Cherian Eapen, a representative of the Malankara diaspora in Russia.
At Domodedovo airport, His Holiness was met by Bishop Dionisy of Voskresensk, first Patriarchal vicar for Moscow and deputy chancellor of the Russian Orthodox Church; Hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; Archpriest Sergiy Tocheny, head of the Moscow Patriarchate administrative secretariat; and R. Akhmatkhanov, DECR secretariat for inter-Christian relations.
On the same day, the guests visited the Patriarchal Convent of the Protecting Veil to venerate the honourable relic of the Blessed Matrona of Moscow. They saw the churches and buildings of the convent and met with the mother superior Theophania (Miskina) and inmates of the convent’s orphanage for girls.
The plan of the visit includes a meeting with His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia; talks with Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), a tour of churches and monasteries in Moscow and the Moscow Region and visits to theological institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The visit will last until September the 5th.
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The Malankara Church is part of the family of the Oriental Churches along with the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean Churches and the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to tradition, it was founded by St. Thomas in the 1st century. Its center is located in the State of Kerala, India. It has dioceses and parishes in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Europe and North America. The latest visit of its Primate to Russia took place in 1976.
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