Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, continuing his working trip to Cyprus with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, visited the Limassol Metropolis on May 19, 2024, where he met with Metropolitan Athanasius of Limassol.
Metropolitan Anthony was accompanied by Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Deputy Chairman of the DECR, Archpriest Pavel Povalyaev, rector of St. Nicholas Church in Limassol, and Priest Nikolai Vasin, Secretary of the DECR Chairman.
Welcoming the guests from the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Athanasius said that it was a great joy and blessing for him to receive the envoy of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. Russian Russian Patriarch Kirill called the consecration of the Russian St. Nicholas Church in Limassol the most important event and expressed hope that this church would be a bridge connecting the Russian and Cypriot Orthodox Churches.
The hierarchs exchanged views on the ecclesiastical situation in Cyprus and throughout the Orthodox world.
In memory of the fraternal meeting, Metropolitan Athanasius presented the DECR Chairman with the image of St. John the Merciful, a native and patron saint of the city of Limassol.