A meeting was held in Geneva between the leadership of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and the general secretary of the World Council of Churches

On September 15 in Geneva, Switzerland, an important working meeting took place between Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR), and Dr. Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). According to Mospat.ru, during the talks, the parties discussed current issues on the WCC’s agenda.

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the WCC leadership also took part in the official talks. In particular, the meeting was attended by Archpriest Mikhail Gundyaev, the Russian Orthodox Church’s representative to the WCC, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, moderator of the WCC Central Committee (who joined the dialogue online), Peter Pruv, head of the WCC Commission on “Churches in International Affairs,” Peter Pruv, as well as the WCC’s Executive Secretary for Programs, Archpriest Vasil-Octavian Mihok, and the Assistant to the Chairman of the Department for Interchurch Relations, Priest Alexander Ershov.

The parties described the meeting as lengthy and constructive, noting the importance of regular interchurch dialogue on a wide range of issues.

It should be recalled that at the World Council of Churches meeting held in Johannesburg (South Africa) from June 18 to 24, the situation regarding the ecclesiastical conflict in Ukraine was discussed. In particular, at the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church delegation, information was shared with the general public regarding a recent attempt to seize the Holy Spirit Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chernivtsi, where priests and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were beaten by supporters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.