Archbishop Demetrios of America welcomes His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion

From Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>
Date Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:10:41 -0700

GREEK ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE OF AMERICA
8-10 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075-0106
Tel: (212) 570-3530 Fax: (212) 774-0215
Web: http://www.goarch.org
Email: communications@goarch.org

June 10, 2008

Contact: Stavros Papagermanos
Tel. 212-570-3556

ARCHBISHOP DEMETRIOS WELCOMES METROPOLITAN HILARION,
FIRST HIERARCH OF ROCOR

New York, NY -- On Monday June 9th, Archbishop Demetrios of America welcomed His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion, the newly enthroned First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) at the Archdiocese Headquarters in New York City. This meeting between the two Primates follows on a new relationship between the Churches occasioned by the reunification of ROCOR with the Moscow Patriarchate in May of 2007. Archbishop Demetrios had already sent a congratulatory letter to Metropolitan Hilarion after his election as First Hierarch (Primate) of ROCOR, which also invited him to the Archdiocese.

Metropolitan Hilarion was accompanied by the Very Rev. Protopriest Alexander Lebedeff, Secretary of Inter-Orthodox Relations. During the 90 minute meeting with the Archbishop, who is also the Chairman of the Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA), the discussions focused around the new reality of ROCOR in the Pan-Orthodox environment of America. Also present at the meeting were the Chancellor of the Archdiocese, Bishop Savas of Troas, Father Mark Arey, Director of Inter-Orthodox Relations and Archdeacon Pandeleimon Papadopoulos.

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