Patriarchs of Moscow and Jerusalem discuss…the “difficulties in Inter-Orthodox relations”

And while an update is awaited from the Kremlin on whether or not the Patriarch of Jerusalem will meet with Russian President Putin , Patriarch Kirill of Moscow did Patriarch Theophilos the… honor of meeting him at his patriarchal residence.

Meanwhile, visits by Russian Church hierarchs to Jerusalem, first and foremost Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, have not ceased in recent times; on the contrary, they have become increasingly frequent.

Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, moreover, has been making frequent trips to both Jerusalem and the Patriarchate of Antioch, in an effort to maintain or even intensify the Russian Church’s close influence/pressure on the two Greek Orthodox Patriarchates.

These visits by Russian ecclesiastical representatives to Antioch and Jerusalem come shortly before November 30, the day on which the Ecumenical Patriarch has invited the Ancient Patriarchates to a meeting (the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the Patriarchate of Antioch, and the Patriarchate of Jerusalem).

The influence exerted by the Russian Church in both Jerusalem and Antioch has not gone unnoticed, and the major challenge is to ensure that…