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On Saturday, May 13, while leading a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to the World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians in Washington DC, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with the Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of all America and Canada.

Attending the meeting on the side of the Russian Orthodox was His Grace Bishop John of Naro-Fominsk, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in the USA; Archpriest Yaroslav Lutoshkin and F.V. Champion, member of the DECR secretariet for inter-Christian relations. Attending the meeting on the side of the Orthodox Church in America was His Grace Bishop Daniel of Santa-Rosa; OCA Chancellor, Archpriest John Jillions, OCA Secretary, Archpriest Eric Tosi and Archdeacon Joseph Matusiak. 

During the conversation, the parties discussed the ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East as well as in a number of countries in Africa and Asia, stressing the need to consolidate the actions of the world community in combating extremism and terrorism. Metropolitan Hilarion noted that “as long as there are several anti-terrorist coalitions that do not coordinate actions with each other, the war will continue. It is possible to defeat extremists only if such countries as the United States and Russia unite in developing a common strategy and will postpone political differences and jointly fight terrorism in the Middle East. “

His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon also pointed to the importance of covering the tragedy of the persecution of Christians in the media, which has almost completely ignored the issue – which is why many people are unaware of the events taking place in the Middle East, Africa and other regions of the world where Christians are being persecuted.

In addition, a wide range of issues related to bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church in America took place, in particular, the development of cooperation in the academic sphere.

At the end of the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon exchanged memorable gifts.