His Beatitude John X received His Eminence…

His Beatitude John X received His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations at Balamand.

His Eminence relayed the love and solidarity of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia. His Beatitude discussed with Metropolitan Hilarion ways to further develop the relationships among both sister churches. His Beatitude sent his deep gratitude to Russia, its people, Church and government, especially for their position in emphasizing dialogue and the adoption of a peaceful solution as the way to salvage Syria from its current crisis.  

They also emphasized the importance of preserving Lebanon and its stability, and the strengthening of the coexistence among its various components as citizens loyal to their country. They also underlined the importance of the Christian presence in the East, a presence which is above and beyond thinking about it in terms of numbers, but in terms of unity among diverse components in society. They also reviewed all the efforts that has been done so far in order to release the kidnapped Metropolitan of Aleppo, Paul Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim.

Finally, His Beatitude asked Metropolitan Hilarion to relay to the Church of Russia and Her Patriarch much love and respect the Church of Antioch, Clergy and laity, has for them. His Beatitude hoped to personally meet Patriarch Kirill very soon.