Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk visits OCA chancellery, meets with head of the Greek Archdiocese in America / Православие.Ru

August 31, 2010

On August 30, 2010, DECR chairman Metropolitan Ilarion of Volokolamsk, who is in the USA on a working visit with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and on invitation of His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah of All America and Canada, visited the chancellery of the Orthodox Church in America in Syosset near New York.

At the chancellery’s chapel, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah said a brief thanksgiving, with His Eminence Ilarion attending.

After the service, the DECR chairman had a meeting with Metropolitan Jonah, Bishop Tikhon of Philadelphia and Eastern Pennsylvania, Bishop Michael of New York and New Jersey; Archpriest Alexander Garklavs, chancellor; Archpriest Leonid Kishkovsky, director of foreign and inter-church relations, Archpriest John Behr, rector of St. Vladimir’s Seminary; Archpriest Chad Hatfield, chancellor of the seminary, and Archpriest Alexander Rentel, secretary of the seminary’s academic council.

They discussed issues concerning the development of Orthodoxy in the American continent. The DECR chairman spoke about his participation in the Preparatory Commission for the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church and a number of inter-Orthodox events.

As a token of Metropolitan Ilarion’s visit to the OCA chancellery, Metropolitan Jonah presented him with an icon of St. Herman of Alaska with particles of the saint’s relics.

Metropolitan Ilarion also visited the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North America to hold a working meeting with Archbishop Demetrios of America. In their talk, which was also joined by Archpriest Mark Arey, secretary of the Archdiocese, and Archpriest Seraphim Gan, secretary of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia’s Holy Synod, they discussed a wide range of issues concerning relations between various Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. Archbishop Demetrios spoke about the work of the North American Bishops’ Assembly, which met for its first session in May 2010. The head of the Greek Archdiocese also shared remembrances of his trips to Russia and meetings with the late Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia and the then DECR chairman Metropolitan Kirill, now Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Metropolitan Ilarion, on his part, spoke about the development of church life in Russia and other countries under the canonical jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate.

As a token of their meeting, the head of the Greek Archdiocese presented the DECR chairman with a bishop’s staff and two volumes of his works in English.

DECR Communication Service