The head of the Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations told the Pope about the persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

On July 11-12, 2024, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Meeting visited Italy, where he was received by Pope Francis at St. Martha’s House in the Vatican on July 11. During the meeting the issues of inter-church relations and joint efforts in the humanitarian sphere were discussed. This is reported by the communication service of the Russian Orthodox Church’s DECR.

«On July 12, Metropolitan Anthony celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in Rome. On the same day, the chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s OVCS had a number of working meetings in the Roman Curia. In particular, he informed his interlocutors about the ongoing persecution of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine. In addition, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk explained in detail the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church to the document «Fiducia supplicans» and familiarized him with the response of the Synodal Biblical and Theological Commission to it,» — the report said.

Recall, earlier we reported that July 4, 2024 in Istanbul held a meeting of representatives of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Department of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Among the issues considered at the meeting, the topic of violation of the rights of the clergy and believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was also raised.