Head of the Moscow Patriarchate's foreign office back in the Vatican

Metropolitan Antony spoke with papal envoy for foreign affairs Archbishop Gallagher

The head of the foreign office of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Antony (Sevryuk), visited its foreign envoy, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, at the Vatican on Thursday. According to the Moscow Patriarchate, the talks dealt with a number of topics that are currently of importance in the relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. The Patriarchate did not give any further details on the content of the talks.

Antony had spoken briefly with Pope Francis at the beginning of May after the general audience in St Peter's Square. He also met with the head of the Vatican authority for the Eastern Churches, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti.

The Vatican is currently planning a peace mission for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. The Archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who was entrusted with the initiative by the Pope, wants to travel to Moscow. A meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Cyril I is also apparently being considered. Zuppi, who is president of the Italian Bishops' Conference, travelled to Ukraine on 5-6 June on behalf of the Pope. In Kiev, he spoke with President Volodymyr Selenskyj and church representatives, among others.

The Orthodox Moscow Patriarchate has come under massive criticism for its support for Russia's war against Ukraine. Church leader Cyril I is an important ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In church services, he called on his compatriots to support the Russian army in Ukraine. In addition, the patriarch promised Russian soldiers that they would be washed clean of all their sins if they fell in the war.

Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Canada and Ukraine put Kirill I on their national sanctions lists. EU-wide punitive measures against him had failed in 2022 due to Hungary's resistance.

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