On October 30, 2026, a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church met with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Baabda Palace. The delegation arrived in the country to participate in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Russian Orthodox Church in Beirut.
Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, who is leading the delegation, conveyed greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia to the head of state.
During the conversation, Metropolitan Anthony spoke about the importance of the Russian Metochion in Lebanon and the Antiochian Metochion in Moscow. These representations serve as bridges between the two Churches, strengthening spiritual ties and mutual understanding between the peoples.
Joseph Aoun spoke about measures to support Christians in Lebanon and thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for its help in building a church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God "Unexpected Joy" in Zahla. The President also expressed his willingness to support initiatives aimed at developing Lebanese-Russian relations.
The meeting was attended by Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Adviser to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Moscow Patriarch to the Patriarchal See of Antioch, Sergei Stepashin, Chairman of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, Vadih Haddad, head of the IOPS Representative Office in Lebanon, and Alexander Rudakov, Russian Ambassador to Lebanon.