The Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church met with Catholicos Garegin II of All Armenians in Armenia

On September 4, a meeting took place at the Patriarchal Residence in Etchmiadzin between the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, and the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, Garegin II. During the visit, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral relations.

According to the Mospat.ru web , at the beginning of the meeting, Metropolitan Anthony conveyed warm greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. In a solemn atmosphere, the metropolitan presented Catholicos Garegin II with a patriarchal congratulatory address marking the 75th anniversary of his birth.

During the talks, Metropolitan Anthony briefed his counterpart on the roundtable discussion titled “The Russian Orthodox Church and Compatriots: Experience of Cooperation in European Countries,” which took place on September 3–4 in Yerevan. For his part, Catholicos Garegin II expressed his appreciation for the congratulations and thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for its unwavering support of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The meeting took place in an atmosphere of constructive dialogue. The participants, whose delegations included representatives of the senior clergy of both Patriarchates, discussed issues of interchurch cooperation and exchanged commemorative gifts.

It should be noted that it was previously reported that, for the first time in the history of modern Armenia, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church— , Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II—did not attend the opening ceremony of the first session of the newly elected parliament.