New Apostolic Nuncio to Russia met Metropolitan Hilarion

Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, new Apostolic Nuncio to Russia (previously he was Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine), met Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk on May 11, 2011, at the Department for External Church Relations.

Metropolitan Hilarion congratulated Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic on taking the office of Apostolic Nuncio, wished him success in his work and expressed hope for further development of constructive cooperation between the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations and the Apostolic Nunciature to the Russian Federation. His Eminence noted with satisfaction that Orthodox-Catholic relations considerably improved in recent years. In this connection, he underscored the role of the Joint Working Group for considering problems in relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church as an effective instrument for discussing and searching for a settlement of various practical problems in relations between the two Churches.

They also discussed prospects for Orthodox-Catholic cooperation in bearing common witness to Christian values in the modern society and in protecting the rights of Christians who are subjected to persecution in various parts of the world.