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The chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk answered questions from a correspondent of Kyodo Tsushin news agency, Japan.   –  In August 2017 Cardinal Pietro Parolin visited Russia.

Along what line have the relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church developed after that visit? Are any high-level contacts between the two Churches planned to take place in the nearest future?

–   The visit made to Russia by the Holy See Secretary of the State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has become a testimony to the high level reached in Russia’ and the Russian Orthodox Church’s relations with the Holy See in the recent years. Suffice it to say that since diplomatic relations were established between Moscow and the Vatican in 1990, it was the first official visit of the Secretary of the State, which took place at the invitation of the Russian State. However, it has also become a testimony to the mutual understanding and fruitful cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church.

Along with meetings with state leaders, the Cardinal Parolin’s program also included meetings with His Holiness the Patriarch and myself, which dealt with issues concerning the situation of Christians in the Middle East and the situation in Ukraine. The talks have shown that the stands taken by the Moscow Patriarchate and the Holy See are very close. In particular, the both sides stressed the importance of developing cooperation between the two Churches in giving humanitarian aid to the suffering Syrian population. Now it is being implemented as the most important area of our interchurch interaction.

High-level contacts between our two Churches are taking place on a regular basis. According to the tradition developed in recent years, I come to Rome each autumn for a working visit to meet with the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, in September 2017, I had a meeting in the Vatican with Pope Francis of Rome. We discussed matters concerning the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue and development of bilateral cooperation for protecting Christians in the Middle East. We also discussed the situation in Ukraine.

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2018/03/12/news157789/