Metropolitan Anthony Meets with the President of Ethiopia

DECR Communication Service, 03.06.2026.

On June 3, a meeting took place in Addis Ababa between Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, and the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Taye Atske Selassie.

Also participating in the meeting were: Archbishop Abuna Philipos of South Omo, Co-Chairman of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Church; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Ethiopia E.E. Terekhin; Head of the Office of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia T. Mulugeta; Fr. Daniel Seyfemichael, representative of the Ethiopian Patriarchate; Senior Counsellor of the Russian Embassy A.S. Chesnakov; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations of the DECR; and Fr. Alexander Ershov, Assistant to the DECR Chairman.

Metropolitan Anthony conveyed to the Head of the Ethiopian State the greetings and good wishes of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’.

The interlocutors noted the historic nature of the friendly relations between Russia and Ethiopia, in which inter-church cooperation has traditionally played a key role. They expressed satisfaction with the intensive development of contacts between the Churches at the present stage.

During a lengthy and warm conversation, Taye Atske Selassie shared memories of his visits to Russia. The President of Ethiopia noted that his program in Moscow invariably includes visits to churches and veneration of the holy sites of the Russian Orthodox Church. Speaking about the broader context of bilateral cooperation, Taye Atske Selassie referred to the address delivered by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ at the plenary session of the Second Russia–Africa Summit (St. Petersburg, July 27, 2023), in which His Holiness emphasized the need to jointly uphold moral values.

The parties discussed the contribution of traditional religious communities to the maintenance of peace and fraternal cooperation among peoples, as well as ways to further develop collaboration.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk gave an interview to representatives of Ethiopia’s leading media outlets.

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Metropolitan Anthony Meets with the President of Ethiopia

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Patriarch

Department Chairman

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