Department for External Church Relations
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Delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church monastics led by Metropolitan Dionisiy of Voskresensk arrives in Egypt
DECR Communication Service, 28.04.2023.
On April 28, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and at the invitation of His Holiness Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II, a delegation of monastics of the Russian Orthodox Church arrived in Egypt to make a pilgrimage to the places related to the origin and flowering of Christian monasticism and to become better acquainted with the modern life of monasteries and convents of the Coptic Church.
As a follow-up of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, the pilgrimage is included in the programme of mutual visits of the Russian and Coptic monastics as part of the work of the Commission for Interchurch Dialogue.
The delegation is led by Metropolitan Dionisiy of Voskresensk, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, first Patriarchal vicar and abbot of the Novospassky monastery in Moscow, and consists of Bishop Arseniy of Yuriev, vicar of the Novgorod diocese; hegumeness Iuliania (Kaleda), deputy head of the Synodal department for monasteries and monasticism and abbess of the Zachatyevsky convent in Moscow; hieromonk Stеfan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations and secretary of the Commission for dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church; archimandrite Mitrofan (Pismensky), abbot of St. Anthony of Leokhnovo hermitage and dean of the monasteries in the Novgorod diocese; hegumen Damaskin (Leonov), abbot of the Dormition monastery in Staritsa, Tver metropolia; hieromonk Amvrosiy (Zhelyabovsky), abbot of the hierarchal metochion at the church of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, the former Holy Trinity Makariev monastery in Kalyazin, Tver metropolia; hieromonk Pavel (Gelyastanov), dean of the Novospassky monastery; hieromonk David (Legeida), head of the scete of the Smolensk icon of the Holy Theotokos and precentor of the choir of the brethren of the Valaam monastery of the Transfiguration; Rev. Ioann Ignatov, a cleric of the Novospassky monastery; hierodeacon German (Murog), assistant to the hegumen of the Valaam monastery; hierodeacon Petr (Akhmatkhanov) of St. Daniel’s stauropegic monastery in Moscow and a DECR staff member; sister Ioannikia (Zhdanova) of the Zachatyevsky convent; monk Mark (Zaikov), director of “The Light of Valaam” religious and educational centre; monk Afanasiy (Nikolayev) of the Information department of the Valaam monastery; A. Bespoldenov, a novice of the Novospassky monastery; and N. Pikulev, a subdeacon of Metropolitan Dionisiy.
The delegation was met at the Cairo International Airport by Bishop Theodosius of Giza; hieromonk Dawood El Antony, representative of the Coptic Church in Russia; Rev. Alexiy Mashkov, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church parishes in Egypt; Dr. Anton Milad, advisor to the Coptic Patriarch; and clergymen of the Coptic Church.
Scheduled are a meeting with His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II, visit to the monasteries located in the Nitrian Desert, to the monastery of St. Anthony the Great and the monastery of St. Paul of Thebes located in the Eastern Desert near the Red Sea Mountains, as well as to other holy sites and historical and cultural places of interest in Cairo.
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