On December 6, 2021, in Belgrade, His Holiness Patriarch Porfiry of Serbia received Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, and a delegation of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, headed by the Executive Director of the Foundation Egor Skopenko.
Archpriest Nikolai Balashov conveyed to the Primate of the Serbian Orthodox Church the greetings and good wishes of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the DECR. The state and prospects of development of relations between the Russian and Serbian Orthodox Churches in the field of culture and education, as well as the possible participation of the Christian Culture and Heritage Support Fund in projects of the Serbian Orthodox Church aimed at preserving cultural heritage were discussed in a warm atmosphere.
The meeting was attended by Bishop Photios of Zvornice-Tuzlan, Bishop Savva of Marchan, Vicar of His Holiness Patriarch of Serbia, Archpriest Vitaly Tarasyev, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, A.Y. Hoshev, an employee of the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Orthodox Relations, and employees of the Foundation.
On the same day, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov and Yegor Skopenko met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Serbia A.A. Botan-Kharchenko at the Russian Embassy.