At the 29 December session of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, after the report made by Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relation Metropolitan, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk was confirmed as DECR vice-chairman.
The session was held at the Patriarchal and Synodal Residence in the St. Daniel Monastery in Moscow. It was chaired by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
Earlier, on August 25, 2022, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk was appointed as acting vice-chairman of the DECR.