« His Holiness Patriarch Kirill had a talk with Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby »
16-03-2022 
On March 16, 2022, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia held a video call with Archbishop of Canterbury Justine Welby.
From the Russian Orthodox Church side there was also Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Participating in the talk from the Church of England was also Canon David Porter, Chief of Staff to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church cordially greeted the Archbishop of Canterbury, noting the importance and timeliness of the meeting.
On his part, the leader of the Anglican Community thanked His Holiness Patriarch Kirill for the opportunity to organize the talk - even remotely.
The Patriarch and the Archbishop discussed in detail the crisis in Ukraine. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill set forth in detail the stand taken by the Russian Orthodox Church on the developments since 2014. They dealt with the humanitarian aspect of the crisis, including the church aid to refugees. His Holiness in particular stressed that each person should have the right to freely confess their faith and speak their mother tongue without being subjected to political persecution for it.
The sides underscored the need to achieve as soon as possible a lasting peace based on justice and agreed to continue the interaction.
Mospat.ru/Sourozh.org