On November 15, 2021, during his working trip to the United States of America, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, visited the Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA — St. Nicholas Cathedral in New York.
After praying and venerating the holy relics of the cathedral, the hierarch conveyed the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’ to the clergy and staff of the Representation.
Metropolitan Hilarion noted that the clergy of the Patriarchal Cathedral are entrusted with the responsible obedience of worthily representing the Russian Orthodox Church in the USA, as well as caring for the spiritual nourishment of the many compatriots living in this country, so that, living among people of other confessions, they do not forget that they belong to the holy Orthodox faith.
The archpastor noted that during the pandemic the United States of America had the largest number of deaths from the consequences of the coronavirus infection, so it is important to continue observing, in services and parish life, all the anti-epidemic measures prescribed by the church hierarchy.
During Metropolitan Hilarion’s conversation with the clergy and staff, Hegumen Nikodim (Balyasnikov) informed the DECR chairman about the current activities of the Representation of the Moscow Patriarchate in the USA, as well as about the work of the Representation of the World Russian People’s Council at the UN, which has been located at St. Nicholas Cathedral since 2005.
For the needs of the Representation and the parish library, Metropolitan Hilarion presented the cathedral clergy with copies of his theological works in English.