Russian Orthodox Delegation welcomed by Pope Francis to be present at the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry

 

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With grateful acknowledgement to the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church 

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On 18 March 2013, a delegation of the Moscow
Patriarchate headed by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the
Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR), arrived
in Rome to attend the enthronement of Pope Francis. The DECR chairman and Bishop
Sergiy of Solnechnogorsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administrative
Secretariat were met at the airport by the Rev. Milan Žust of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity and hieromonk Antoniy (Sevryuk), rector of
the Church of St. Catherine in Rome and secretary of the administration of the
Moscow Patriarchate’s parishes in Italy.

Members of the delegation were accommodated at the House of St. Martha, where
the new Pope is residing. A short meeting with Pope Francis took place at the
refectory. The Pope warmly greeted Metropolitan Hilarion who introduced members
of the delegation and conveyed cordial best wishes to Pope Francis from His
Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The Pope said that he had
offered special prayers for Patriarch Kirill at the divine service as it is a
commemoration day of St. Cyril of Jerusalem according to the Julian calendar. He
thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for the exhibition of Russian icons held in Buenos
Aires last autumn with the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity Foundation’s
assistance. The future Pope visited the exhibition and keeps warm recollections
of it.

The DECR chairman greeted other guests who arrived in Rome to attend the
enthronement: Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, Metropolitans John of
Pergamon and Emmanuel of France (Patriarchate of Constantinople), Amfilohije of
Montenegro and the Littoral (Serbian Orthodox Church), John of Korça (Albanian
Orthodox Church), and Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna.

Attending the enthronement of Pope Francis as honorary guests will also be
Metropolitan Anthony of Borispol, chancellor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church,
and Metropolitan Platon of Feodosia and Kerch, who served in Argentina during
many years and was well acquainted with the new Pope.