Senior Russian Orthodox Cleric Says He Will Meet With Pope Francis In Late December

The chairman of the external relations department of the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate announced on Monday that he will meet with Pope Francis after the twentieth of December to discuss a possible meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2021) The chairman of the external relations department of the Russian Orthodox Church's Moscow Patriarchate announced on Monday that he will meet with Pope Francis after the twentieth of December to discuss a possible meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

"I and Pope Francis of Rome are scheduled to meet after the twentieth of December. I will congratulate him on behalf of his Holiness Patriarch Kirill on his 85th birthday and discuss a wide range of issues related to bilateral relations between our churches. One of these issues is a possible meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill. The date and place of the meeting have yet to be worked out," Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk said.

The cleric expressed his hope that the upcoming meeting would "allow discussion of all issues of mutual interest.

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Earlier in the day, Pope Francis also commented on the upcoming meeting. He added that he is willing to make his first trip to Moscow to meet with Patriarch Kirill and added that he is meeting Metropolitan Hilarion to settle on the date and location. Pope Francis also said that protocols for the meeting are less important than to meet as "brother to brother."

In October 2021, Metropolitan Hilarion visited the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis to discuss relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, saying that relations between the churches are "developing very positively."

The first meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill was held on February 12, 2016 in Havana, Cuba.