Pope meets Russian Orthodox leader

Metropolitan Hilarion, head of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Relations for 13 years, has been Metropolitan of Hungary since last year. The "cordial" meeting took place in the Nunciature for about 20 minutes, reports Vatican News.

At the end of the appointments on the second day of his trip to Hungary, Pope Francis met privately this morning, 29 April, with Hilarion, Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary. He took office in June 2022 after thirteen years as president of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Ecclesiastical Affairs, in practice Cyril's "foreign minister".

This sudden change was the result of a series of decisions taken during the session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, held in the Moscow monastery of Danilov, which changed the structure of some territorial administrations. Hilarion had also been relieved of his duties as Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church and Rector of the Institute of Advanced Studies of Saints Cyril and Methodius.

Cathcon: Hilarion was clearly sent to Hungary on a mission....

The possibility of this audience had been anticipated by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni during the briefing to present the Apostolic Journey in the Vatican Press Room. Bruni stressed, however, that the audience was not on the programme. Today's meeting "in a cordial tone", reports the Holy See, lasted about 20 minutes, in the presence of an interpreter, and took place at the Nunciature in Budapest, Pope Francis' residence during his trip. The Pontiff greeted the Metropolitan with an embrace and kissed his pectoral cross.

Pope Francis last met with Hilarion in the Vatican Apostolic Palace on 22 December 2021. On that occasion - a statement from the Vatican Press Office reported - they had discussed a series of issues of common interest and to which there is a common commitment to seek "concrete human and spiritual answers". The first meeting between Pope Francis and the Orthodox metropolitan took place on 20 March 2013, the day after the Pontiff's Petrine ministry began. But over the years there have been numerous audiences at the Vatican, including one in February 2020, and the meeting in Rome on the occasion of the international event "Brotherly Peoples, Future Land", organised by the Community of Sant'Egidio.

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