Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), met with Germany’s ex-president Christian Wulff, at the DECR.
Metropolitan Hilarion warmly welcomed the German ex-president. He also spoke about the presence of the Russian Orthodox Church in Germany, the pastoral aid that the Moscow Patriarchate parishes gives to compatriots in Germany, the dialogue between the Russian Church and German Catholics and Protestants and the involvement of the Moscow Patriarchate in the work of the Petersburg Dialogue, a forum of civic societies in Russia and Germany.
On his part, Mr. Wolff thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for the opportunity to meet and shared his concern over a decline in the religiosity of European society. He also pointed to the need for Christian solidarity in today’s world.
As mospat.ru mentions, they also discussed contacts between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Metropolitan Hilarion told Wulff about the meeting between Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis, which took place in February 2016 in Cuba.
Speaking about the disastrous situation of Christian believers in the Middle East, Metropolitan Hilarion expressed concern for the dechristianization of the region.
