On September 17-18, 2026, the fourth meeting of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Church took place in Moscow. The meeting was held with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Patriarch Abuna Matthias of Ethiopia.
The meeting was chaired by the Co—Chairs of the Commission, Bishop Kirill of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov and Archbishop Abouna Filipos of South Omo, Rector of Holy Trinity Theological University in Addis Ababa. The participants summed up the results of cooperation over the two years since the previous meeting in Ethiopia and identified areas for further joint work.
Special attention was paid to the protection of Christians, academic relations, social service, and interaction in the field of church culture. Representatives of the two Churches stressed the importance of mutual support for believers facing pressure and persecution, as well as coordinated actions on international platforms.
In the field of education, the parties discussed the development of contacts between religious educational institutions, academic exchanges, joint research and publications. The Russian Orthodox Church has confirmed its readiness to accept two Ethiopian students to study at the Moscow Theological Academy in 2027.
One of the areas of humanitarian cooperation will be the cooperation between St. Alexy's Hospital in Moscow and "Migbare Senai" Hospital in Addis Ababa. The exchange of experience in the field of social work and deaconry will continue. Exchanges of monastic delegations are also planned: representatives of the Ethiopian monastic community are scheduled to travel to Russia in 2027.
"The participants of the meeting supported the development of cultural and media projects, including the preparation by the Spas TV channel of a documentary about the history of relations between the peoples of Russia and Ethiopia." An agreement was reached to resume work on pilgrimage programs with visits to the shrines of both countries. The parties also expressed mutual gratitude for the assistance provided by the Ethiopian Church community in Moscow and the Moscow Patriarchate community in Ethiopia.
The results of the meeting are reflected in a joint communique and will be submitted for approval to the Holy Synods and the Primates of the two Churches. The next meeting of the Commission is scheduled to be held in 2028 in Ethiopia.
During their stay in Moscow, the participants of the meeting visited the Marfo-Mariinsky Monastery of Mercy, where Abbess Hegumenia Elisaveta (Pozdnyakova) hosted a reception in honor of the guests from Ethiopia.