On November 10, 2021, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ and at the invitation of His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, arrived in the United States of America on a working visit.
At John F. Kennedy Airport, the DECR chairman was met by the Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, Archpriest Alexander Rentel; the clergy of St. Nicholas Patriarchal Cathedral, Hegumen Nikodim (Balyasnikov) and Priest Mark Rashkov; and the Consul General of the Russian Federation in New York, S.K. Ovsyannikov.
On the morning of November 11, Metropolitan Hilarion met with the founder and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, Rabbi Arthur Schneier. Founded in 1965 to develop dialogue and good relations among the traditional world religions, the foundation is one of the best-known and most influential interreligious organizations in the USA.
During the conversation, a wide range of issues of mutual interest was discussed. Metropolitan Hilarion spoke in particular about how the Russian Orthodox Church carries out its ministry amid the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as about the current state of inter-Orthodox relations.
That same day Metropolitan Hilarion arrived at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, where the scholarly theological conference “Search the Scriptures” is to be held, devoted to the English translation of Metropolitan Hilarion’s six-volume work “Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching.” Four of the six volumes have been published so far. Leading American scholars in New Testament studies have gathered to discuss the issues raised in this work. Metropolitan Hilarion will give the keynote address at the conference.
The program of the DECR chairman’s trip to the USA includes celebrating the Liturgy in the chapel of St. Vladimir’s Seminary, visiting St. Tikhon’s Seminary in Pennsylvania and concelebrating the Divine Liturgy with His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of All America and Canada, and meetings with the Primate and hierarchs of the Orthodox Church in America and with representatives of other Christian confessions.