On September 9, 2025, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with members of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, which is currently meeting in Russia, at the Patriarchal and Synodal Residence at the Danilov Monastery in Moscow.
Among the participants from the Russian Orthodox Church were: Co-chairman of the Commission, Metropolitan Isidore of Smolensk and Dorogobuzhsky; Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen; Secretary of the Commission, Secretary of the Department for External Church Relations for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov); Abbess of the Zachatievsky Stavropol Convent, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Abbess Juliania (Kaleda); Vice-rector for academic Affairs at the Moscow Theological Academy, Priest Pavel Lizgunov; member of the Commission, DECR officer S.G. Alferov.
On the part of the Coptic Church participated: Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles, Co-chairman of the Commission; Bishop Kirill, Secretary of the Commission, Vicar of the Los Angeles Diocese, Rector of the St. Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria Theological Seminary in the USA; Hieromonk Daoud el-Anthony, representative of the Coptic Church in Russia; Patriarchal Adviser Dr. Anton Milad; Head of the Department of the Coptic Patriarchate for the Implementation of church projects by Barbara Soliman.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill warmly welcomed the participants of the meeting, mentioning that it was taking place on the memorial day of St. Pimen the Great, one of the founders of Egyptian monasticism. "This saint has long been revered in Moscow. He was especially revered by those people who defended the gates of the city. They always prayed to Saint Pimen when there was a threat of invasion through these gates by those who sought to harm our capital," said His Holiness.
Addressing the head of the Coptic delegation, Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church asked to convey greetings and expressions of his brotherly love to His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II of Copts.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill described the bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church as "very, very friendly, fraternal and reliable."
2025 marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Commission formed to establish a permanent dialogue between the two Churches. An agreement on this was reached between His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow of All Russia, and His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II of Copts during the visit of the Primate of the Coptic Church to Russia on October 28 — November 4, 2014. On February 9-13, 2015, a meeting of the joint working group on the preparation of the dialogue was held in Cairo. On May 5, 2015, the composition of the Commission was approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, and in July of the same year, the Synod of the Coptic Church adopted a similar decision.
Thanking the Co-Chairs and members of the Commission who attended the meeting for their zealous work, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia stated that it greatly contributed to the strengthening of bilateral contacts and contributed to mutual understanding.
Russian Russian and Coptic religious leaders emphasized the importance of the annual mutual visits organized within the framework of the Commission's activities, which take place in the context of the development of dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church. Noting the importance of familiarizing representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate with the monastic experience and the ascetic life of the inhabitants of Coptic monasteries, His Holiness stated: "These testimonies open the hearts of Orthodox people to your Church, its spirituality, its historical experience and the sorrows that the Coptic Church has gone through."
His Holiness also pointed out the importance of the theological dialogue, which is part of the interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church. "We are very positive about the results of this dialogue, we believe that it can both contribute in many ways to the rapprochement of our Churches in theological terms, and strengthen cooperation," said Patriarch Kirill.
During the conversation, he touched upon the church situation in Ukraine and spoke about the actions of the authorities of that country aimed at destroying the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Addressing the guests, His Holiness noted with gratitude the kind attitude of the Coptic Church towards people coming from Russia, particularly in Cairo and Hurghada, where compatriots have the opportunity, among other things, to get acquainted with Coptic temples. "I know that your clergy provides benevolent hospitality to our Orthodox people. And the most important thing is that both Cairo and Hurghada have facilities where Orthodox Russian people gather for prayer and where canonical services are held. At the same time, appropriate facilities have also been found in St. Petersburg and Moscow for your parishes. It was with love that we participated in the organization of this part of your church life, realizing how important it is for the pious believing people belonging to the Coptic Church to have a place to pray during their stay in our country," His Holiness noted.
In turn, Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles conveyed to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia the greetings and good wishes of the Primate of the Coptic Church and handed his letter to the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
He also expressed the hope that His Holiness would visit Egypt in good time.
The representative of the Coptic Church expressed solidarity with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill's deep concern and heartache over the grave situation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is currently experiencing persecution by the state authorities. Metropolitan Serapion noted that Coptic Christians pray for the faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and for all those who are suffering today.
Continuing the conversation, he stressed the importance of the work of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, established ten years ago, and noted with gratitude the great contribution of the Moscow Patriarchate to the joint work of the co-chairman and participants.
Among the important areas of cooperation, in addition to the theological dialogue, the co-chairman of the Commission from the Coptic side mentioned the exchange of visits by monastic delegations of the two Churches. Another such visit to Russia by Coptic monastics ended the day before.
Another area of collaboration is student exchanges, in particular, the education of Coptic students in theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as assistance to representatives of Coptic youth in enrolling in Russian universities.
Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles thanked the Russian Orthodox Church for its assistance in establishing Coptic church communities in Moscow and St. Petersburg and helping Egyptian Christians in Russia.
At the end of the meeting, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill presented awards to a number of members of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church.