Joint delegation of the Department for External Church Relations (DECR) The Moscow Patriarchate, headed by Chairman Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, and the Foundation for the Support of Christian Culture and Heritage, headed by Executive Director Egor Skopenko, arrived in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on May 16, 2025.
At the Beirut airport, the delegation was met by Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis, representative of the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, as well as Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church in Lebanon.
Upon arrival, the joint delegation met with Alexander Rudakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Lebanese Republic, with whom the parties discussed the current political situation in Lebanon, as well as the Fund's implemented and planned projects.
At the end of the meeting, the joint delegation was received by Jacques Sarraf, Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Tripoli. During the meeting, the parties discussed cooperation between the two countries, as well as trade development issues.
In the afternoon, the joint delegation met with the Patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church of Lebanon, Beshara Boutros, Cardinal of ar-Rai, with whom issues of support for Orthodoxy in the Middle East, as well as inter-Christian cooperation, were discussed in a warm conversation.
The first day of his stay in Lebanon ended with a festive dinner at the residence of Metropolitan Niphon of Philippopolis.