With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Patriarch Abuna Matthias I of Ethiopia, the third meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Church took place in Addis Ababa from September 22 to 26, 2024.
The delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate included: Co-chairman of the Commission, Bishop Kirill of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov (via video conference); Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Secretary of the Commission, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov); Abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow, Abbess Elisaveta Pozdnyakova; Deputy Chairman of the Synodal V.V. Kipshidze of the Department for Church-Society Relations and the Media; D.E. Arakelyan, an employee of the Department for External Church Relations.
On the part of the Ethiopian Church, the meeting was attended by: Co-Chairman of the Commission, Rector of Holy Trinity Theological University in Addis Ababa, His Grace Archbishop of South Omo Abuna Filipos; Deputy Administrator of the Ethiopian Patriarchate Archpriest Elias Abrha; Vice-rector of Holy Trinity Theological University, Professor Archpriest Hailegabriel Girma; Dean of the Faculty of Distance Learning of Holy Trinity Theological University, Priest Gebrehanna Gebretsadiq; Priest Daniel Seifemihael, member of the Expert Council on Higher Education at the Ethiopian Patriarchate, Secretary of the Commission.
Following the meeting, a joint communique was adopted. In particular, it says: "The results of the Commission's activities for the period since the previous meeting in Moscow on February 11-16, 2023 were reviewed. The Commission noted the firm commitment of the Primates and the Holy Synods of both Churches to maintaining the continuous development of bilateral relations."
The participants of the meeting stressed the fundamental "importance of contacts and correspondence at the Primate level, as well as the expression of mutual solidarity in difficult times." The Commission welcomed the implementation of various joint initiatives during the reporting period, such as support for Russian-speaking believers in Ethiopia and Ethiopian believers in Russia, the visit of the academic delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to Ethiopia in May 2023, the performance of the united choir of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy in Addis Ababa during the celebration of the Holy Cross in September 2023, his concert at Holy Trinity University and other projects.
The Commission discussed cooperation in the following areas:
I. Cooperation in the field of Christian protection, including at the international level
II. Joint support of traditional moral values
III. Resumption of cooperation in the academic field, theological education and student exchange programs
IV. Implementation of cooperation in the field of arts
V. Cooperation in the field of humanitarian projects, social work and diaconia
VI. Implementation of mutual visit programs
VII. Cooperation in the pastoral and missionary fields
VIII. Development of pilgrimage programs in Russia and Ethiopia
The results of the Commission's activities will be submitted for approval to the Holy Synods and Primates of both Churches.