The pilgrimage visit of monastics from the Russian Orthodox Church to Egypt has begun.translated

On November 5, 2026, by the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' and at the invitation of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, the pilgrimage visit of monastics from the Russian Orthodox Church to Egypt has begun.

The delegation is headed by the Patriarchal Exarch of South-Eastern Europe, Metropolitan of Singapore and South-Eastern Asia Sergius. The pilgrimage group includes bishops, abbesses, and monastics from the Russian Orthodox Church, employees of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Department for External Church Relations, as well as the secretary of the Patriarchal Exarchate of South-Eastern Europe.

On November 6, the delegation visited the Monastery of St. Paul the Hermit — one of the oldest Christian monasteries in Egypt, located in the Eastern (Arabian) Desert, between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea coast.

The history of the monastery is inextricably linked with the name of St. Paul the Hermit, one of the first great Christian hermits. According to church tradition, the saint spent many decades in seclusion, prayer, and strict asceticism, laying the foundation for the tradition of desert monasticism, which had a profound impact on the development of Christian monasticism.

Subsequently, on the site of his labors…