On February 16, 2026, a delegation from the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, together with Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Great Antioch and All the East, inspected the building where the Orthodox university is planned to be organized.
After the inspection, a meeting was held with Patriarch John X of Antioch, during which issues of cooperation between the Antiochian Patriarchate and the Foundation, the results of joint work over the past year and plans for 2026 were discussed.
Archimandrite Philip, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Damascus, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Deputy of the Moscow Patriarchate's Department for External Church Relations, and Colonel Andrey Bodredinov, Defense Attache at the Russian Embassy in the Syrian Arab Republic, also took part in the conversation.
In particular, the most important issue at present is assistance in the restoration of the church of the Prophet Elijah in Damascus, where a terrorist attack took place on June 22, 2025, the manufacture and delivery of the iconostasis and bells.
The meeting also touched upon the issues of providing financial assistance to the clergy of the Antiochian Patriarchate, as well as assistance in equipping the future Orthodox university, scheduled to open by the end of 2026.
In addition, Patriarch John, the Foundation's executive director and DECR Deputy Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk discussed the possibility of a student exchange between Russia and Balamand Theological Seminary.
At the end of the meeting, Patriarch John X of Antioch thanked the delegation of the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage for their fruitful cooperation over the years, and emphasized the value of the warm relationship that has developed between the Orthodox Church of Antioch, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Foundation.