The decision was made by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which gathered July 25 in Moscow under the auspices of Patriarch Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

An investigation was launched in the Eastern European country, while the Russian opposition press notably implicated the Christian leader in a local scandal involving moral misconduct.

Pending a more permanent decision, the diocese's administration has been temporarily entrusted to Metropolitan Nestor of Chersonesus and Western Europe.

Immediately replaced by Bishop Methodius of Yegoryevsk, Metropolitan Hilarion was also removed from his position as president of the Synodal Theological Commission. Continue reading

And there will be no papal visit to Kyiv while war rages, Pope Francis said in an interview with the Argentine daily newspaper La Nación on 21 April.

Pope Francis told reporters on 2 April that he was considering a possible visit to the Ukrainian capital.

But in his latest interview, he told La Nación: "I cannot do anything that puts higher objectives at risk, which are the end of the war, a truce or at least a humanitarian corridor."

"What good would it do for the pope to go to Kyiv if the war were to continue the next day?" he said.

When asked about Patriarch Kirill, Pope Francis said: "I am sorry that the Vatican has had to suspend a second meeting with Patriarch Kirill, which we had scheduled for June in Jerusalem." Their first meeting was in 2016 in Havana, the first time the Pope and the Moscow patriarch had met personally.

He explained that the Vatican's diplomatic team understood that such a meeting "at this time could lead to much confusion".

Personally, he said he seeks to promote fruitful interreligious dialogue because mutual understanding or agreement "is better than conflict".

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, had confirmed on 7 April that Pope Francis wanted a meeting with Patriarch Kirill in a "neutral place," but this has been cancelled. However, the patriarch's support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine could make a meeting inadvisable.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of external relations for the Russian Orthodox Church, told reporters on 22 April that "the events of the past two months necessitated adjustments to the plans and postponement of the meeting.

"Too many problems would now arise during its preparations in terms of security, logistics, and coverage of the meeting in the public space" he said, according to Interfax. "We will wait for a better time for this event."

The Vatican will never stop its diplomatic efforts to mediate an end to the war against Ukraine, Pope Francis said. He told La Nación that he is willing "to do everything" to end the bloodshed.

Sources

The Tablet

The meeting, which is expected to take two hours, will take place when the Pope is en route to Mexico, the Vatican announced.

A statement from the Vatican and the Moscow patriarchate noted that the meeting will mark an important stage in relations between the two churches.

According to a Reuters report, Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church said the meeting is taking place because of the need for a joint response to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

Metropolitan Hilarion said that long-standing differences between the two churches remain, most notably a row over the status of the Uniate Church, in Ukraine.

But he said these differences were being put aside so that Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis could come together on the issue of persecution of Christians.

"The situation shaping up today in the Middle East, in North and Central Africa, and in some other regions where extremists are carrying out a genuine genocide of the Christian population, demands urgent measures and an even closer cooperation between the Christian churches," Hilarion said.

"We need to put aside internal disagreements at this tragic time and join efforts to save Christians in the regions where they are subject to the most atrocious persecution."

Hilarion said the first-ever meeting between the heads of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox churches would not take place in Europe because Patriarch Kirill had objected to such a venue from the very beginning.

"Because it is namely Europe with which this tragic history of divisions and conflicts among Christians is linked," Hilarion said.

The meeting between the Pope and Patriarch Kirill will come only months before the expected opening in June of the first synod meeting of the various Orthodox churches in more than a thousand years.

This synod will be in Crete.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Reuters
• Image: Asia News