The session was held yesterday afternoon, Thursday, July 11. This is the fourth meeting between Francis and the Metropolitan, Head of the Department of External Church Relations at the Patriarchate.
Vatican News
His Holiness Pope Francis received Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The meeting took place late on Thursday afternoon, July 11, the Holy See Press Office reported.
The Pope and Anthony met for the first time on August 5, 2022, when the Orthodox representative came to the Vatican for the first time, following his appointment in June of the same year, succeeding Metropolitan Hilarion.
On 15 September 2022, a new meeting was held in Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan, which the Supreme Pontiff visited to participate in the Congress of Leaders of Traditional Religions.
On 3 May 2023, Anthony came to Rome to meet some of the heads of the Roman Curia and took part in the general audience in St. Peter’s Square. On that occasion he greeted the Supreme Pontiff and stopped to talk to him for a few moments. Francesco, as always in these meetings, had kissed him. PanagiaThe medallion bearing the image of the Mother of God worn by Orthodox bishops on their chests.
