On June 3, 2026, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, met with Taye Atsuke-Selassie, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa.
The meeting was also attended by: Archbishop Abuna Filipos of South Omo, Co-Chairman of the Commission on Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Church; E.E. Terekhin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Ethiopia; T. Mulugeta, Head of the Cabinet of the President of the FDRE; Father Daniel Seifemihael, representative of the Ethiopian Patriarchate; Senior Adviser to the Russian Embassy A.S. Chesnokov; DECR Secretary for Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov) and Priest Alexander Yershov, assistant to the DECR Chairman, are involved in inter-Christian relations.
Metropolitan Anthony conveyed to the head of the Ethiopian state the greetings and well-wishes of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
The interlocutors noted the historical nature of friendly relations between Russia and Ethiopia, in which the factor of inter-church cooperation has traditionally been one of the key values. The intensive development of contacts between the Churches at the present stage was emphasized with satisfaction.
During a long and warm conversation, Atske-Selassie shared his memories of his visits to Russia. The President of Ethiopia noted that the program of his stay in Moscow invariably includes visits to temples and worship of the shrines of the Russian Orthodox Church. Speaking about the context of bilateral cooperation, Taye Atske Selassie mentioned the speech of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the plenary session of the second Russia—Africa Summit (St. Petersburg, July 27, 2023), in which His Holiness noted the need for joint defense of moral values.
The sides discussed the contribution of traditional religious communities to the maintenance of peace and fraternal interaction between peoples and ways to further develop cooperation.
After the meeting, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk gave an interview to representatives of the leading Ethiopian media.