Pope Leo XIV for the first time received a representative of the Moscow Patriarchate
Kyiv • UNN
Pope Leo XIV met with Metropolitan Antony, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. During the meeting, issues of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue and current conflicts, particularly the war in Ukraine, were discussed.
Pope Leo XIV met on July 26 with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. This was reported by UNN with reference to the statement of the Vatican press service.
Details
"This morning, the Holy Father received in audience... His Eminence Anthony, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate," the statement reads.
In turn, Reuters reports that during the meeting, Pope Leo XIV discussed the war in Ukraine with Anthony "as part of a possible attempt to restore ties between the churches, strained by Russia's invasion."
Meanwhile, the Russian Orthodox Church noted that during the conversation, "numerous issues regarding the state of Orthodox-Catholic dialogue, as well as current conflicts in the world, particularly in Ukraine and the Middle East, were raised."
Recall
In May, Pope Leo XIV confirmed his readiness to host the next round of negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine in the Vatican.
It later became known that Russia does not consider the Vatican a neutral platform for negotiations with Ukraine.
In early July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV. During the meeting, they discussed the war, as well as peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, which the Vatican could host.