New York, NY – Archbishop Demetrios of America received His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department of External Relations, at the Archdiocese Headquarters, Aug. 30. The Metropolitan had requested a meeting with the Archbishop, and this was his first visit to the Archdiocese.

After praying in the Archdiocesan Chapel of St. Paul, and viewing the few surviving remains of the St. Nicholas Church destroyed on 9/11 which are kept in the Chapel, the Metropolitan spent 90 minutes with the Archbishop, discussing the recent Episcopal Assembly of North and Central America (May 26-28, 2010), as well as issues of common interest for inter-Orthodox relations in the United States.  The discussions were characterized by a spirit of common interest and desire for the promotion of the Orthodox message in the United States and internationally.