On the 14th-15th of November 2018, the head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Administration for Institutions Abroad, Archbishop Antony of Vienna and Budapest, visited Slovakia and the Czech Republic with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.
On the 14th of November, in Bratislava, the hierarch was received by His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav of the Czech Lands and Slovakia. The participants in the meeting discussed various items on the agenda of the inter-Orthodox relations. In particular, Archbishop Antony gave His Beatitude Metropolitan Rastislav detailed information about the actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople in Ukraine that undermine the foundations of the conciliar structure of the Orthodox Church and about the Russian Orthodox Church’s reaction to these actions.
Taking part in the meeting were also Archpriest Nikolai Lischenyuk, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Representation in Karlovy Vary, and Archpriest Michal Švajko, secretary of the Prešov diocese of the Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia.
On the 15th of November 2018, Archbishop Antony visited Prague and met with Archbishop Michal of Prague. The archpastors exchanged opinions on the challenges facing the Orthodox Church today because of the unilateral attempts to revise the fundamental principles of the inter-Orthodox cooperation.
They were joined in the meeting which took place at the administration of the Prague diocese by Archpriest Nikolai Lischenyuk.
