Church of St. Thomas Bears Vital Witness – Patriarch Kirill

OCP News Service – 18/07/2025

Moscow- Russia: A delegation from the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church was officially received by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia at the Patriarchal Residence, following the Patriarchal Divine Liturgy at the Holy Trinity–St. Sergius Lavra on 18 July 2025.

His Holiness warmly welcomed the delegation and expressed his appreciation for the deepening relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. He highlighted the historic and vital evangelical mission of the Church of the Apostle Thomas on Indian soil, emphasizing its growing role in global Orthodoxy.

In his response, Metropolitan Abraham Stephanos conveyed fraternal greetings and blessings from His Holiness Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan. He also assured His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of continued prayerful support for the persecuted faithful and hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, especially Metropolitan Arseny of Svyatogorsk and Metropolitan Theodosius of Cherkasy and Kaniv.

The visit also marked the fourth session of the Joint Working Group for coordination of bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankara Church. The delegation also participated in monastic exchanges, filming of a documentary on Russian monastic life, and meetings with the Synodal Department for Church-Society and Media Relations to enhance cooperation in ecclesial and media spheres.

Orthodoxy Cognate PAGE Secretary Donn George Varghese was also part of the delegation, representing the Ecumenical Department of the Malankara Church as a consulting member.

The Malankara delegation included: Metropolitan Zacharias Nicholovos of the Northeast American Diocese; Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malankara Church, Metropolitan Yuhanon Demetrios of Delhi; Metropolitan Abraham Stephanos of the Diocese of Great Britain, Europe and Africa; Executive Director of the Department for External Church Relations, Fr. Ashwin Fernandes; Secretary of the Northeast American Diocese, Fr. Abi George; Dean of the Theological Seminary in Parumala, Fr. Eldos Aliyas; Secretary General of the Mar Gregorios Orthodox Christian Student Movement, Fr. Vivek Varghese; Dean and cleric of the Brahmavar Diocese, Fr. Anthony Marvin D’Silva; cleric of the Delhi Diocese, Fr. Aaron Joshua John ; Jobin Baby (Gregorian TV); and Ribin Raju, Public Relations Officer of the Malankara Church.

The delegation was accompanied by Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov) and Hieromonk Mark (Akhmathanov) of the Department for External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Source:

OCP News Service