DECR Vice Chairman Participates in a Meeting of the Council of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society

DECR Communication Service, 04.06.2026.

On June 3, 2026, a meeting of the Council of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IOPS) dedicated to the 144th anniversary of the Society’s establishment took place at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russia Abroad in Moscow.

The agenda included a review of the Society’s activities during the first half of 2026, the admission of new members, and the presentation of honorary commemorative awards of the IOPS. The meeting was held in the now traditional hybrid format. Many members of the Council and invited leaders of the majority of the Society’s regional and overseas branches participated online.

With the blessing of Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the event was attended by Archpriest Igor Vyzhanov, Vice Chairman of the DECR.

The meeting was opened with a report by S.V. Stepashin, Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, who spoke about the Society’s active work in all statutory areas during the first half of 2026 and outlined plans for the coming six months.

Addresses were also delivered by G.E. Borisenko, Full Member of the IOPS and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation; I.Yu. Chaika, Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation; A.D. Viktorov, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Israel; O.V. Shabunevich, Vice Chairman of the IOPS, Chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Christian Mercy Charitable Foundation, and Head of the Society’s Moscow Regional Branch; leaders of a number of regional and overseas branches of the IOPS; and others. Reports were also presented by the heads of the Scientific, Pilgrimage, International, and Youth Sections of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, as well as by the Press Secretary of the Chairman of the IOPS.

As part of the Council meeting, a ceremony was held for the presentation of Society badges and certificates to newly admitted Full Members of the IOPS. Honorary badges and certificates of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society were also awarded.

According to information provided by the website of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.

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DECR Vice Chairman Participates in a Meeting of the Council of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society

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