September 4 at the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) The Moscow Patriarchate held a meeting of the chairman of the department, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, with the Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, His Holiness Catholicos Basil Mar Thomas Matthew III, who is in Russia on an official visit.

According to the DECR press service, at the meeting Metropolitan Anthony spoke about the modern life of the Russian Orthodox Church and its external activities, in which dialogue with the Malankara Church traditionally occupies an important place, especially in the context of the functioning of the Working Group on the Coordination of Bilateral Relations established in 2019.

In his reply, His Holiness Catholicos Basil Mar Thomas Matthew III noted the high level of fraternal relations between the Malankara Church and the Moscow Patriarchate, mentioning that the foundation for their development was the sending of students of the Church of India to the Leningrad Theological Academy in the second half of the XX century. One of these students was the future Malankara Catholicos himself. His Holiness mentioned his acquaintance with the future Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, who was at that time rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy. His Holiness also recalled his participation in the dialogue between the Orthodox and Ancient Eastern Churches and expressed hope for its continuation.

Then the topic of persecution of Christians in different regions of the world and the need to unite the efforts of Churches to support suffering brothers and sisters were discussed. Metropolitan Anthony thanked the Primate and hierarchs of the Malankara Church for their recent statements in support of Metropolitan Jonathan of Tulchinsk and Bratslav. 

His Holiness Catholicos Basil Mar Thomas Matthew III noted the importance of joint defense of traditional moral values, one of the most active defenders of which, in his opinion, is the Russian Orthodox Church. 

The Primate of the Malankara Orthodox Church arrived in Russia on Sunday and will stay until September 8. The program of the visit includes talks with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, meetings with Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Dionysius of the Resurrection, Manager of the Moscow Patriarchate, and visits to churches and monasteries in Moscow and the St. Petersburg Metropolia.