Metropolitan Anthony of DECR Attends Holy Synod Meeting of Malankara Orthodox Church

DECR – OCP News Service – 25/02/2024

Malankara/ Russia: On February 23,2024, on the invitation of His Holiness Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews the Third of Malankara, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, as an honored guest, attended the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Malankara Orthodox Church, held in the Catholicate Palace in Kottayam.

Welcoming Metropolitan Anthony, Catholicos Marthoma Mathews the Third noted the high level of developing bilateral relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Malankara Orthodox Church and conveyed warm wishes to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’.

On behalf of the members of the Synod, Metropolitan Anthony was also greeted by the President of the Department for Ecumenical Relations of the Malankara Church, Metropolitan Dimitrious of Delhi, who, in particular, recalled with gratitude the visit to Moscow in 2023 of a high delegation of the Malankara Church led by its Primate.

In turn, Metropolitan Anthony conveyed to the Catholicos and members of the Holy Synod words of good wishes on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and congratulations on the memorable date – the 1950th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Thomas the Apostle.

The hierarch emphasized that relations between the two Churches have deep historical roots. Bilateral relations actively developed and had a particularly confidential character in the era of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Paulose Gregorious and Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov). Subsequently, the key events in the history of bilateral contacts were mutual visits of the Primates of the two Churches (in 1976, the Russian Church was visited for the first time by His Holiness Catholicos Marthomas Matthew the First; a year later, His Holiness Patriarch Pimen made a return visit to India. In 2006, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, while Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, visited Delhi, Chennai and Kottayam, venerated Christian shrines associated with the name of St. Thomas the Apostle.

The DECR Chairman noted that the key element of the relationship has traditionally been cooperation in the academic sphere, namely the education of Malankara students in Russian theological schools. A striking example of such a student exchange was the training of His Holiness Marthoma Matthew III in the 70s at the Leningrad Theological Academy, the rector of which at that time was Archbishop Kirill of Vyborg, now His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus’.

Metropolitan Anthony warmly recalled his first visit to the Malankara Church in 2023 and expressed hope that the participation of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the celebrations taking place these days in Kottayam will be another step towards strengthening and developing inter-church relations.

During his visit to India, Metropolitan Anthony is accompanied by the DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), and the DECR Chairman’s Secretary, Deacon Nikolai Vasin.

Source: DECR and OCP News Service