A panel discussion "Church Diplomacy for Peace" was held at the Moscow House of Nationalities on October 20, 2026. The meeting was held within the framework of the XII Moscow International Forum "Religion and Peace: Unity of Peoples in the Diversity of Service" and was timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
Representatives of Christian churches and the Islamic community in Russia and abroad discussed peacekeeping initiatives, interreligious cooperation, humanitarian and social projects, including on the African continent. Special attention was paid to the interaction of religious organizations in the context of modern international challenges and the preservation of traditional spiritual and moral values.
The discussion was moderated by Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), Secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations for Inter-Christian Relations. A report on the international activities of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill was presented by Archpriest Sergiy Zvonarev, DECR Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who conveyed greetings from Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department.
Among the participants of the meeting were Metropolitan Serapis Amon of the Coptic Church of Odurman and Port Sudan, representatives of religious organizations in Sudan, Imam-Muhtasib of Nizhnekamsk and Nizhnekamsk region Salih Ibrahimov, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations and the Media Vladimir Kipshidze.
The discussion was also attended by students of the Master's program "Religious Diplomacy in a Multipolar World", which the Higher School of Economics implements jointly with the Church-wide Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius and DECR.