This July 26, Pope Leo XIV received the Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, his Eminence Antonij, also president of the department for external ecclesiastical relations of the Orthodox patriarchy of Moscow (Russia).
The meeting took place at the Vatican Apostolic Palace and the press office of the Vatican He reported the meeting this Saturday without giving more details.
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According to him Patriarchy of MoscowMetropolitan Anotnij “transmitted to the Pontiff the greetings on behalf of his holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, and congratulations for his choice as primacy of the Roman Catholic Church.”
The Holy Father, according to the Patriarchy statement, expressed his gratitude for the good wishes of the Russian patriarch “and stressed the importance of developing relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.”
During the conversation “numerous issues related to the state of orthodox-catolic dialogue” were raised, in addition to reflecting on the various armed conflicts that affect the world, especially “war between Ukraine and Russia, and war in the Middle East.”
“In particular, the Metropolitan Antonij told Pope Leo XIV about the persecution to which the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is submitted today. At the end of the encounter, the interlocutors exchanged memories,” concluded the Patriarchy of Moscow.
Andrés Henríquez
I was born in Caracas in 1996. I am a writer for ACI Press and correspondent of EWTN since 2023. Since then, I cover events of the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Latin America and the world. I have more than 6 years of experience in bilingual media. In addition, in Venezuela I have worked from various fields for freedom and respect for fundamental rights in the country. I am a member of the Regnum Christi Federation since 2014.