On September 7, 2025, the VI meeting of the Dialogue Commission between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church commenced at the Pokrovsky Stavropegial Convent in Moscow. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the commission, established by the agreement of the heads of the two Churches, as reported by the website of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations.

The meeting was attended by hierarchs and representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Metropolitan Isidor of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh, as well as a delegation from the Coptic Church headed by Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles. Also present were Coptic monastics concluding their pilgrimage visit to Russia.

The Dialogue Commission was created on May 5, 2015, following the first visit to Russia by Coptic Patriarch Tawadros II. Over the past decade, the parties have built strong ties. As Metropolitan Isidor noted, a significant event was the joint participation of Patriarchs Kirill and Tawadros in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2017.

In his welcoming address, Metropolitan Isidor emphasized that the meeting is taking place in the Pokrovsky Monastery, where the relics of Blessed Matrona of Moscow, a saint highly revered in Russia, rest. He expressed hope that the work of the Commission will continue to strengthen the fraternal relations between the Churches and peoples.

Metropolitan Serapion, for his part, highlighted the determination of Patriarchs Kirill and Tawadros to develop inter-church relations and expressed confidence that cooperation would contribute to the unity of Christians. "Thank God that Orthodox Russia today once again presents itself in its true greatness, which we understand as a return to spiritual roots," he said.

The meeting concluded with a concert featuring the choir of the Smolensk Theological Seminary and the choir of the Coptic parish of Saint Mark the Apostle in Moscow, performing Russian and Coptic spiritual hymns.

The Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church of the Alexandrian tradition belong to different branches of Christianity. The Copts are the largest Christian community in Egypt, part of the family of Ancient Eastern Churches, which are not in Eucharistic communion with the Orthodox but maintain close contacts with them. The work of the bilateral Commission aims to develop dialogue, exchange experiences, and implement joint projects that strengthen friendship between the Churches and the peoples of Russia and Egypt.